The forensic experts appointed by the special appelate investigating judge have confirmed that the train shown in the videos that have recently emerged is indeed the freight train involved in the Tempe crash. However, they made it clear that the authenticity of the videos themselves has not been verified. Lawyers for the victims’ families have raised objections, arguing they were not given the opportunity to appoint their own experts to assess the footage. The next step is for police forensics to examine the authenticity of the videos.

The experts’ report states that the train shown in the videos is indeed the freight train that collided with the passenger train at Tempe, adding that no other cargo is visible apart from what was declared. The certification of the forensic experts, appointed by the special appelate investigating judge in Larissa, comes just days after the videos were handed over to him. It is noted that the three key videos were submitted two years after the Tempe tragedy by the railway security company, specifically by the lawyer representing Interstar Security, the firm responsible for monitoring and safeguarding facilities, Vasilis Kapernaros.

However, while the experts identified the train in the footage as the correct freight train involved in the crash, they explicitly stated that they did not confirm the authenticity of the videos themselves. The final conclusion of their report reads: “This report concerns the identification of the depicted train as the freight train 63503, without certifying the authenticity of the video material.”

Following this, the forensic lab of the Hellenic Police will examine and verify the authenticity of the three videos that appear to capture the path of the freight train before it collided with the passenger train at Tempe on the night of 28 February, 2023.

Lawyers for the victims’ families challenge the validity of the findings

Lawyers representing the families of the victims have raised an objection to the findings of the two judicial experts, arguing that they were not informed in time about the appointment of the experts, preventing them from appointing their own technical advisors.

“They prepared a fast-track report without informing the parties supporting the prosecution, preventing them from appointing their own technical advisor”

The next step is for the judicial authorities to send the technical reports to the forensic labs of the Police for comparison with the seized recording equipment and servers from the offices of the private security company. This will confirm whether the video material is genuine.

“Without laboratory expertise, everything remains uncertain,” emphasized Loukas Apostolidis, lawyer of the father of a survivor.

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