Parents of student killed in Tempi call for clarification on train cargo — Cyprus Mail

In the Greek city of Larissa, the parents of Cypriot student Kyprianos Papaioannou, who died in the 2023 rail disaster near Tempi, testified in the case concerning the tragedy. They asked the court to establish what cargo was being carried by the freight train that collided with the passenger train, Cyprus Mail reports.

Parents’ testimony

The victim’s mother, Georgia Papaioannou, told the court that her 23-year-old son, a law student at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, was due to marry that August. According to her, her son’s body was handed over to her without proper respect, and she dressed him for burial instead of for a wedding.

The student’s father, priest Christodoulos Papaioannou, said that his son chose the train over a plane to save money for the wedding. He also said that he saw burns on the body and detected a chemical smell that did not disappear after repeated washing with wine.

Dispute over the cause of the fire

The disaster occurred on 28 February 2023 in central Greece, when a passenger train carrying students collided with a freight train near Tempi. About 57 people were killed, including two Cypriot citizens — Papaioannou and 24-year-old Anastasia Adamidou from Paphos.

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The trial, which began on 23 March at the Larissa Court of Appeal, involves 36 defendants. The proceedings are expected to last up to three years, and more than 350 people are expected to testify.

The issue of the freight train’s cargo remains disputed. Initially, Greek officials blamed human error for the crash and said the fire was fuelled by silicone cooling oil. In 2025, the national accident investigation body concluded that the officially declared cargo could not explain the appearance of the fireball.

A court-appointed expert later said that silicone oil can decompose to produce flammable gases and found no evidence of any other cargo. At the same time, a technical adviser to the victims’ families, citing data from a state laboratory, claimed that hydrocarbons, including benzene and xylene, were present on the train. Hellenic Train denied transporting such substances. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged in 2025 that the presence of suspicious cargo might have been possible.