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Former Deputy Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Triantopoulos, who resigned from his post on Tuesday to support a parliamentary inquiry into the Tempe railway disaster, has released a contentious email he had sent to government officials on March 9, 2023, just days after the deadly collision that claimed 57 lives, in an effort to counter suspicions of a coordinated cover-up at the crash site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I am posting today \u2013 something I usually don\u2019t do \u2013 is not to respond to the opposition\u2019s unsubstantiated accusations, but to stop yet another massive lie from taking shape. This lie, like previous ones spread by opposition parties and certain media, aims to further fuel public anger,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Triantopoulos emphasized that the email, which was referenced in a recent article by the newspaper Estia, sparking political controversy in Parliament, contains no instructions or evidence of a coordinating cover-up role on his part.<\/p>\n
At the time of the crash on February 28, 2023, Triantopoulos was serving as a state minister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Triantopoulos resigned from his post earlier this week to support the inquiry by parliament, the only body that can lift politicians\u2019 immunity and probe them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A three-day parliamentary debate triggered by a no-confidence motion brought by opposition parties culminates Friday night.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, lawmakers approved the formation of a preliminary investigation committee to examine opposition allegations of a cover-up of crash-site evidence implicating Triantopoulos.<\/p>\n
A recent report by the National Organization for Investigating Air and Rail Accidents and Transport Safety identified systemic safety failures and the destruction of critical evidence in the days following the crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It noted the possible presence of an \u201cunknown\u201d substance that may have contributed to a massive explosion and the high death toll when the passenger and freight trains collided in Tempe, central Greece.<\/p>\n
However, the report stated that there was \u201cno actual coordination, either at the operational or strategic level, among the various services at the scene of the collision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n