Greece Tackles Road Safety After Crash

Greece announced stringent measures to improve safety on its roads yesterday as the country mourned seven schoolchildren killed in a traffic accident on their way to the Paralympics.

As flags at games venues flew at half mast to mark the tragedy, the prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, promised to increase police and camera surveillance on motorways. Much of the neglected road system would be upgraded as part of efforts to drastically reduce the carnage, he said.

Greece has the most road crash deaths in Europe, with more than 2,000 people killed in traffic accidents every year, according to official statistics.

The closing ceremony of the Paralympics, which included more than 4,000 disabled athletes from 144 countries, was toned down last night as a mark of respect to the dead.

Firework displays were dropped at the request of Paralympic organisers, who said the majority of spectators attending the games had been schoolchildren.

The government also ordered schools across Greece to remain closed today after its decision to declare a day of national mourning.

The teenage high school pupils were on their way to Athens from northern Greece when their coach collided with a truck carrying glass, 108 miles north of the capital.

About 30 remained in hospital last night. Three were reported to be in a serious condition.

Yesterday it emerged that more than 100 people have died in accidents on the same stretch of highway over the past four years, despite official promises to upgrade the road for more than a decade.

Hundreds of local residents blocked the highway yesterday chanting "no more blood", to protest against the lack of safety barriers along the road.

Traffic police who usually monitor the area, long regarded as one of the most dangerous stretches on Greek motorways, had been seconded to Athens for the Paralympic games.

Mr Karamanlis announced the measures after the Greek media clamoured for steps to improve a national high-way which was, they said "more reminiscent of a provincial road."