Train collision in Greece: "It was nightmarish seconds"

AreaRead the video transcript expand here

The nocturnal drone recordings show the extent of the accident: at least 36 people died in the serious collision between two trains in central Greece.

More than 60 people were injured, some seriously, but were rescued from the rubble and taken to hospitals.

The scene of the accident is a rubble field.

The accident happened near the city of Larissa, about halfway between the capital Athens and the port city of Thessaloniki.

A passenger train departing from Athens with around 350 passengers on board collided head-on with a freight train coming from the opposite direction – from the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki.

The two trains ran into each other on the same track – it was initially unclear how the accident happened.

About 200 passengers could be evacuated from the intercity train in the evening;

they were taken to Thessaloniki by bus, paramedics provided first aid at the bus station.

They describe the horrific scenes when fire broke out after the collision on the train.

Stergios Minenis, passenger

“We heard a big bang, it was ten nightmarish seconds: we fell over and then panic broke out.

There were cables everywhere, fire everywhere.

When we turned around, there was fire, right and left.”

Passenger, name unknown

"We came down, there was a fire next to us, this man here saw a hole, so we managed to get out."

Stergios Minenis, passenger

"We jumped from a height of two meters, broken pieces of iron lay beneath - but what could we do?"

The rescue workers tried to lift the derailed wagons with cranes and heavy equipment in order to search for survivors and other victims.

The rescue operations are still ongoing.

In the meantime, the search for the causes of the devastating accident continues.

The railway chief responsible for the route had been arrested, reported Greek state television.

The route, which connects Athens with the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki, has been modernized in recent years.

Despite the modernization with new bridges and tunnels and two tracks along the approximately 500-kilometer route, there are "significant problems with the electrical coordination of traffic control," it says.