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Train accident in central Greece: emergency services at the scene of the accident near Larisa
Photo:
Vaggelis Kousioras / AP
At daybreak, the extent of the serious accident in Greece only becomes clear: the scene of the accident is like a field of rubble, the front carriages of both trains were folded up by the impact and burned out in part, as drone footage on Greek state television shows.
According to official information, at least 32 people were killed in a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in central Greece late Tuesday evening.
"85 people were injured and taken to hospitals," said a fire department spokesman at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
The death toll could still rise.
In the morning, the rescue and salvage work continued with cranes and heavy equipment as well as with sniffer dogs.
Rescue workers and reporters on site were stunned.
How is it possible that the Intercity from Athens to Thessaloniki with around 350 passengers on board was traveling on the same track as the oncoming freight train, even though the route has been expanded to two lanes?
The railway boss responsible for the section had already been arrested, it said on state television.
Other railroad workers and technicians would be questioned.
The traffic authority of the nearby city of Larisa has started investigations into the cause of the accident.
Many connecting railway lines were closed to train traffic for the time being.
Meanwhile, desperate relatives gathered at the train station in the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki at night, and telephone hotlines were set up.
Many of the dead can reportedly only be identified by DNA testing.
Around 200 passengers, who were not injured or only slightly injured, were taken by bus from the scene of the accident to Thessaloniki, 150 kilometers away.
But some family members waited in vain.
"I thought I was going to die," said one passenger, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
According to his own statements, the young man was sitting in one of the rear wagons.
He sought protection on the ground, people screamed and cried.
Other passengers reported that they smashed in the windows and managed to get out of the half-tipped carriage in the dark.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life"
The first four carriages of the passenger train derailed, said the governor of the Thessaly region, Konstantinos Agorastos.
The two cars at the front of the train caught fire and were almost completely destroyed.
Many passengers suffered burns.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said a helper who came out of a wrecked wagon, completely exhausted.
"It's so tragic."
Despite the modernization with new bridges and tunnels and two tracks along the entire 500-kilometer Athens-Thessaloniki route, there are significant problems with the electrical coordination of traffic control, according to state television.
»We drive from one part of the route to the other by radio, just like in the old days.
The station managers give us the green light,” said Kostas Genidounias, president of the train drivers' union on state radio.
He was unable to say why this is happening and why no modern control system works.
The Greek railways (Hellenic Train) are operated by the Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS).
wit/dpa/AFP/Reuters
