Three newly surfaced videos from the deadly Tempe train crash have been authenticated by forensic experts, two years after the disaster, Greece’s Criminal Investigations Division (DIE) confirmed.
After laboratory analysis, DIE specialists concluded that the videos, submitted by logistics company Interstar on February 5, 2025, are genuine. “Since the videos are authentic, it is clear that no illegal cargo was present between the locomotive and the freight containers,” judicial sources said. “The footage shows the train carrying metal sheets.”
However, some independent investigators remain skeptical. “We don’t care whether the videos are authentic or not,” said Kostas Lakafossis, a forensic expert assisting victims’ families. “We know that the fireball that burned such a vast area couldn’t have been caused by silicone oils. What we’re looking for is small enough to be hidden anywhere. Where? That’s for the authorities to determine.”
The special examining judge, Sotiris Bakaimis, will submit the forensic report to Professor Dimitris Karonis of the National Technical University of Athens on Monday for further investigation into the cause of the fireball.
Bakaimis has also summoned two Interstar employees to explain inconsistencies in the videos’ timestamps. The files, reportedly recovered on February 8, 2025, have metadata suggesting they were retrieved three days later. Their testimonies are scheduled for April 8.
Meanwhile, a judicial council rejected a request to annul an earlier forensic examination that identified the freight train in the videos. Prosecutors argued that victims’ experts should have been present, but the court ruled that the judge’s order to verify the train’s identity was a standard investigative procedure.
According to the 30-page forensic report, the three videos originated from cameras linked to a surveillance system and maintain consistent visual framing with primary recordings.