A bomb exploded outside the Athens office of Greek privately owned railway Hellenic Train Friday. No injuries were reported in the incident and it caused light material damage.
The bomb was left in a backpack that was itself padlocked so it could not be opened and bound to a pillar with a motorcycle lock so it could not be moved or removed, according to the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.
The perpetrator of the bombing contacted two Greek media outlets, Zougla and Efimerida ton Syntakton, prior to the blast to let them know it was coming. It occurred at around 9:30 p.m. local time.
“This is serious, it is not a prank, call the police immediately,” the suspect told both outlets.
Tourist Greg Almaguer, who hails from Texas, told Euronews, “I just heard the explosion and started smelling the powder. Right away, I could tell there was just a big explosion, powerful and scary.”
The blast came more than two years after the Feb. 28, 2023, Tempe train disaster, in which 57 people died after a freight train and a passenger train operated by Hellenic Train going in opposite directions were accidentally put on the same track.
Anger over the incident has continued over the succeeding years. Only rail officials have been charged criminally so far and protests erupted around the second anniversary of the crash, according to The Associated Press.
Hellenic Train condemned the bombing.
“Our company unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and tensions that fuel a climate of toxicity that undermines all progress. This way of expression has no place in society. We will continue to courageously defend dialogue, cooperation, solidarity and justice,” Hellenic Train said in a statement as translated from Greek.
Greek Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Dimas also condemned the incident, writing on X that “the bomb attack on the Hellenic Train offices is an absolutely condemnable act. … Nothing justifies terrorism, no act of violence brings justice. The authorities and the judiciary now have the floor,” as translated from Greek.
Left-wing opposition to the ruling government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a member of the New Democracy Party, also decried the blast and said it distracted from the government’s culpability in the Tempe disaster.
“Actions of this kind aim to distract public opinion from the real issue at stake, which is the search for the truth and justice … and they exacerbate the chaos created by Mr. Mitsotakis with his actions and omissions,” the SYRIZA party said as translated from Greek according to Efimerida ton Syntakton.
The Communist KKE, meanwhile, said that “the condemnable bombing attack on the Hellenic Train offices only serves those who want to get out of the way of the great popular movement that is demanding justice … It is clear that the recent major protests have disturbed many who will use all means, from disorientation to provocation, to ’collect’ the people from the streets,” as translated from Greek according to Efimerida ton Syntakton.
