Pope Francis prays for victims of Greek train collision

By Devin Watkins

“My thoughts have gone out frequently in recent days to the victims of the train crash in Greece.”

Pope Francis offered that expression of his concern on Sunday, as he prayed the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope noted that many of the victims were young students who were reportedly returning to university from a long holiday weekend for the start of Orthodox Lent.

Tragedy allegedly due to ‘human error’

At least 57 people died late Tuesday night when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train.

The collision took place near the northern Greek city of Larissa, in the Tempe Valley, some 380 kilometers north of Athens.

Greece’s government has blamed human error, and prosecutors have charged the local station master with negligent homicide and bodily harm, as well as disrupting transportation.

Protests broke out in multiple Greek cities in the wake of the collision against the perceived lack of safety measures in Greece’s rail network.

Funerals for some of those killed in the crash—many of whom were in their late teens and early 20s—have been held in recent days.