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Accident site near Tempi
Photo:
GIANNIS FLOULIS / REUTERS
At least 26 people died when a freight train collided with a passenger train on Wednesday night in central Greece.
A fire department spokesman said:
At least 85 people were injured in the accident.
Numerous hospitals have been put on alert.
It was said that 350 travelers and 20 railway workers were on board the trains.
Greek television showed videos from the scene of the accident near Tempi in central Greece.
Carriages of both trains were smashed.
Firefighters and rescue workers tried to find survivors in the rubble.
“Most of the injured have head injuries, broken pelvises, arms and legs.
Unfortunately, there are numerous people who are still in the rubble," a member of a rescue team told reporters at the scene.
A survivor said on state television that fire broke out on the passenger train after the collision.
"There was chaos and a hell of a racket."
The route, which connects Athens with the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki, has been modernized in recent years.
The Greek railways (Hellenic Train) are operated by the Italian state railway Ferroviaria dello Stato Italiano (FS).
Railway workers said on the Greek broadcaster Real FM that, despite the modernization, there were significant problems with the electrical coordination of traffic control.
aar/dpa
