The frontal collision, the causes of which are still unknown, has caused several wagons to derail and sparked a fire that has trapped passengers
At least 32 people have died and 85 were injured by the collision between a passenger train traveling between Athens and Thessaloniki and a freight convoy, reported Wednesday the fire service of Greece.
“Thirty-two passengers have been found dead so far,” said the spokesman for the Greek firefighters, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, during a press conference in which he specified that the operation was still underway. “85 people were injured and were taken to surrounding hospitals,” he added.
The possible causes for which the two trains collided have not been disclosed. According to the country’s media, it is the “worst rail accident Greece has ever known.”
The spokesperson confirmed that three wagons derailed at the height of Lárisa, in the center of the country, where the collision between the train with 350 passengers and freight convoy.
Some 150 firefighters, in addition to 40 ambulances, were mobilized to the scene of the incident, according to the Greek relief services.
rescue operation
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life. It’s tragic. Five hours later we found bodies,” said an exhausted rescuer as he emerged from the cavity where he and his team were removing the bodies of passengers.
Mechanics and cranes also went to the scene to try to remove the rubble and lift the overturned vehicles. “Most of the passengers were rescued,” said the fire department spokesman. “The operation to free trapped people is underway and is taking place in difficult conditions, due to the seriousness of the collision between the two trains,” he said.
Train derails in Greece ??
The train derailed ? between Athens and Thessaloniki and there would be more than a dozen victims.
The accident ?️? occurred after the collision of two trains, one cargo and one passenger. pic.twitter.com/biXMWg9c8d– SDP News (@sdpnoticias) March 1, 2023
fire of a wagon
One of the wagons caught fire and several people were trapped, according to the public television channel Ert. On the Skai television channel, the region’s governor, Kostas Agorastros, stated that “more than 250 passengers were transferred by bus to Thessaloniki.”
The Government organized a crisis meeting after the event. The Minister of Health, Thanos Plevris, went to the scene and his Interior colleague, Takis Theodorikakos, monitors the situation with the police and firefighters from the crisis management center.
“thunderous noise”
On the website of the local newspaper ‘Onlarissa’, a young woman explained between tears that “The train was running late and stopped for a few minutes when a thunderous noise was heard.”
“We have experienced something very shocking. I am not hurt, but I am stained with other people’s blood who were wounded next to me,” said Lazos, a passenger questioned by the Protothema newspaper.
“At the time of the accident, we were startled because the windows were blown out. People were screaming and scared,” another passenger told Skai television.
“Fortunately, we were able to open the doors and escape quite quickly. In other carriages, they couldn’t get out and one carriage even caught fire,” added the traumatized youth.
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The two hospitals in the Lárisa region were required to receive the many injured, according to firefighters.
In addition, the military hospitals in Thessaloniki and Athens are “standing by” in case of need, they noted.