Major protest rallies underway in Greece after rail disaster

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and THEODORA TONGAS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Major demonstrations are underway in Athens and cities across Greece to protest the deaths of 57 people and the serious safety deficiencies the country’s worst train disaster exposed. Labor unions and student associations organized the rallies, while strikes halted ferries to the islands and shut down public transportation services in Athens. About 30,000 people joined the protest in the capital. A passenger train slammed into an oncoming freight train near the northern Greek town of Tempe on Feb. 28 after they were mistakenly placed on the same track. The revelations of safety gaps on Greece’s busiest rail line have put the center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the defensive.