The report of the Greek National Railway Accident and Safety Investigation Organization (ΕΟDΑSΑΜ) is currently up in the air regarding the fireball that was caused after the collision between a commercial and a passenger train in Tempi, following the conflicting views of the universities of Ghent and Pisa regarding the fireball from combustible materials.

“The board of ΕΟDΑSΑΜ is expected to proceed with the withdrawal of any reference to the fireball in the report,” emphasized the head of the organization, Christos Papadimitriou, during an interview on Skai Radio.

He explained that he had requested that the report not be made public before the corresponding study from the University of Lausanne, which is considered the best in the world in this specific field, was provided.

However, Bart Acu, a member of the ΕΟDΑSΑΜ Investigation Committee and the second-in-command of the European Railways Organization, stated that if the report is not released, he will hold a press conference himself, accusing the Greek organization of preventing the corresponding European body from doing its job.

“Imagine what would have happened in Greece if something like this had occurred,” he commented.

Moreover, Acu revealed that he had based his section on the fireball on unofficial conversations with experts from the University of Ghent, which led the university to state that it disagreed with the findings of the report.

Nevertheless, it was emphasized that the report is “a thorough scientific piece of work that contains 17 safety recommendations and only one strange and scientifically challenging point, that of the fireball, which remains open.”

Papadimitriou explained that ΕΟDΑSΑΜ had no right to make modifications to the report.

When asked whether he had received threats to his life in an effort to halt the investigation, he confirmed the reports.

“I received the letter from the University of Pisa on Friday afternoon,” he later said during an interview on RealFM 97.8. “I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I immediately convened the board,” he added.

Papadimitriou explained that “the letter stated that Professor Landucci had had private correspondence with the European expert and had not given permission for it to be included in the ΕΟDΑSΑΜ report” and added that “we requested that any reference to the University of Pisa be removed.”

Papadimitriou also discussed the issue with the University of Ghent, saying, “The ‘Ghent problem’ arose during the presentation of the report. On February 26th, I received a report, and I saw that the Ghent report talked about simulations that were not theirs but from EDAPO. I learned the rest last night.” He clarified that “the night before the press conference for the report’s presentation, they told us it was finalized and ready to proceed. I knew then that it had been corrected.”

As Papadimitriou mentioned, “the ΕΟDΑSΑΜ report concerns railway safety, and the fireball is a small part of it. Mr. Acu said everything was fine on February 26th. In fact, we had asked for the fireball section of the report not to be released without certification from a higher institution, which was rejected by the technicians.“