The report of the Arson Crimes Investigation Directorate (DAEE) on the fire that followed the collision of the two trains in Tempi on the night of February 28, 2023, is now in the hands of the appellate investigator, according to the news outlet larissanet.gr.

The multi-page report notes, among other things, that the second electric locomotive of the freight train shows deformations as a result of the collision, but no traces of burning or other alterations from exposure to fire, and that the cabin interior also shows no signs of burning. This is a complete refutation of both the theories supported by some technical advisors of the victims’ families in the Tempi tragedy, as well as the findings of the National Organization for the Investigation of Aviation and Railway Accidents and Transport Safety (EODASAAM), which even specified the area behind the locomotive seats as the spot where an illegal explosive charge had supposedly been placed.

Following the submission of the DAEE’s report, and with the current evidence, only the delivery of the final analyses from the State General Laboratory remains before the investigation can be concluded.

The pending issue regarding the former General Secretaries of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure will be decided in conjunction with the ruling of the Judicial Council—which will be formed in the coming days—in order to examine also the aspect of criminal prosecution concerning former Transport Minister Kostas Ach. Karamanlis.

It should be recalled that at the end of February, following the publication of the EODASAAM report, the scenario of flammable cargo being carried in the second, empty cabin of the freight train was also considered likely.

It is noted that the DAEE team, along with a team from the Chemical Service of Larissa and court-appointed experts, visited Koulouri in March as part of the court-ordered technical examination requested by the appellate investigator—in order to investigate, among other things, the scenario of cargo being transported in the second cabin. Six months later, the DAEE concludes that there is no evidence of burning.

It is also worth noting that for the same reason, an expert examination was carried out by a professor of mining and metallurgy at the National Technical University of Athens, who also visited Koulouri at the same time and concluded that the cabin’s alterations were the result of collision, not explosion.