Tempi: Mother of Deceased Train Engineer Speaks Out – ‘I Mourn My Child and Hear He Transported Illegal Cargo’

Powerful emotions were stirred by the extensive statements made on Sunday morning (09.03.2025) to OPEN by Stavroula Karydi, the mother of 32-year-old commercial train engineer Dimitris Massalis, who was killed in the Tempi railway tragedy. Speaking about the investigations two years after the incident, she revealed that they began following a request from her lawyer. “We requested this after hearing certain statements post the press conference of EOEDASAM and the unfortunate comment by the President, which he later retracted indirectly. This gave rise to suspicions that there might have been flammable material in the engines,” she stated. She added that the commercial train has already been meticulously inspected. “I believe those handling it knew the documentation and understood none of these allegations held any truth. Instructions were given because we needed to be covered,” she noted, casting aspersions on the president of EOEDASAM. “I feared they would label my son a smuggler,” she expressed, highlighting the lack of voice for victims’ families in such incidents. “Not only do I mourn my child, but I also have to hear on TV that he transported illegal cargo for a bribe. I spent 20 years raising my child, and now I strive to protect his legacy from the games being played,” she emphasized. She further stated that the commercial train’s carriages were opened in the presence of a prosecutor and contained what was documented. “It wasn’t a ghost train. It stopped at stations every three quarters. There are ten stationmasters who have testified. And let me reveal a recent dialogue uncovered through the documentation,” she mentioned, referring to a conversation between her son and the stationmaster of Plataion. Regarding the engines, she explained that they were not involved in the fire and remained intact. She voiced concerns about attempts to shift blame onto the front carriages and reduce the cargo weight, fearing the blame might eventually fall on her son.