Greece train crash: Police, protesters clash at rally in Athens

Greece train crash: Police said 12,000 people had gathered by the large esplanade in front of the parliament to demand accountability for Tuesday's head-on collision.

Violent clashes broke out between police and protesters outside the Greek parliament in Athens on Sunday as thousands attended a rally following the nation's worst rail disaster that killed 57, AFP reporters saw.

Demonstrators try to avoid tear gas thrown by riot police during clashes in Athens, Greece, Sunday, March 5, 2023. Thousands protesters, take part in rallies around the country for fifth day, protesting the conditions that led the deaths of dozens of people late Tuesday, in Greece's worst recorded rail accident. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai) (AP)

Some demonstrators set fire to rubbish bins and threw Molotov cocktails, while police responded firing tear gas and stun grenades, clearing Syntagma Square of the protesters within a few minutes.

Police said 12,000 people had gathered by the large esplanade in front of the parliament to demand accountability for Tuesday's head-on collision near the central city of Larissa that has sparked widespread outrage.

Read here: Greece train crash: Death toll rises to 57, rescue operations on

They had released hundreds of black balloons into the sky in memory of the dead, with some holding signs reading "Down with killer governments".

Train and metro services have been paralysed by strike action.