President Nikos Christodoulides said the government is in touch with the families of the two Cypriot students who were on one of the trains that collided in an accident near Larissa that killed at least 46 people late on Tuesday.
The two are Kypros Papaioannou, a law student from Avgorou, and Anastasia Adamidou from Paphos, enrolled at the Aristotelio Dental School in Thessaloniki. Their families arrived in Larisa on Wednesday.
“The government is constantly in touch with their families,” Christodoulides said on Thursday during a visit to the graves of Greek Cypriots killed during the British colonial rule.
“We will keep following up with the situation and we are hopeful that we will have some news soon.
“All governments should take necessary preventive measures to avoid similar tragic events,” the president said.
Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, the director general of the foreign ministry Cornilios Corniliou said Papaioannou and Adamidou do not yet appear on any list of victims or injured people following the crash and they are still considered missing.
“We hope to find out what happened to them as soon as possible,” he said,
Corniliou added that another Cypriot national was on one of the two trains, adding that he reported minor injuries during the crash that needed to be treated in hospital. He has already been discharged.
“That said, the exact number of Cypriot national on the train is not yet clear, as not all passengers have been identified yet,” he said.
Cyprus’ ambassador to Greece Kyriakos Kenevezos has also travelled to Larissa early on Thursday to stay alongside the two Cypriot students’ families.
“There are countless of families waiting to hear news of their loved ones at the Larissa general hospital,” he told CyBC.
“What has happened is simply shocking. I have never experienced anything so tragic. So many people are still unaccounted for.”
Paphos Secondary School Coordinator Andreas Iosif, said that of Adamidou, who was born and raised in the town, dreamed of going to study dentistry.
“Her dream recently became real when she was admitted to the university in Thessaloniki,” he told the Cyprus News Agency.
“I pray for her and her family that this horrible story has a happy ending.”
Earlier in the day, Christodoulides expressed his deep condolences to the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a phone call.
According to a statement released by the President’s office, Christodoulides told Mitsotakis Cyprus is ready to assist in the rescue operations in any way possible.
Mitsotakis thanked the President and vowed to inform him in case more information regarding the fate of the two Cypriots will emerge.
The high-speed passenger train with more than 350 people on board smashed head-on into a freight train.
Carriages were thrown off the tracks, with two entirely crushed and several engulfed in flames. Many of the victims were university students returning home after a long holiday weekend and officials said the death toll was expected to rise further.
Protesters hurled rocks at train company offices in Athens in the evening, before being dispersed by volleys of tear gas fired by riot police. Protests also broke out in Thessaloniki.
And on Thursday, trains were brought to a halt in a day of strike against what unions said was successive governments refusal to hear repeated demands to improve safety standards.
Newly appointed Greek Transport Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said he had been tasked with investigating the reasons behind the accident and with modernising the infrastructure, after his predecessor, Kostas Karamanlis, resigned on Wednesday over the crash.
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