Passenger recounted how he experienced the train accident in Greece 1:03
(CNN Spanish) --
A passenger train traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided Tuesday before midnight (local time) with a freight train in the Tempi area, central Greece, near the city of Larissa.
At least 36 people died and dozens more were injured, according to the country's authorities.
Vassilis Varthakogiannis, spokesman for the Greek Fire Service, told a televised briefing on Wednesday that 66 people are being treated at the hospital so far, six of them in intensive care units.
It is estimated that around 350 people were traveling on the passenger train, most of them young people.
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Drone video shows the train accident in Greece 1:20
How and why did the train accident happen?
State public broadcaster ERT reported on Wednesday that both the passenger and freight trains traveled on the same track for many kilometers before the accident occurred.
He added that the passenger train changed lanes and onto a freight track before colliding head-on with the other train.
Train accident in Greece leaves at least 36 dead and dozens injured
Greek authorities also detained the stationmaster of a train station in the city of Larissa on Wednesday in connection with the train crash, Greek police told CNN.
This is a 59-year-old man who was detained by the Larissa police department as part of the preliminary investigation carried out in connection with the crash, Greek police spokeswoman Constantia Dimoglidou said on Wednesday.
The Larisa Police Department told CNN that the man was arrested early Wednesday morning and is being held in Larisa.
He is expected to appear before the prosecutor.
This aerial drone photo taken on March 1, 2023 shows emergency crews searching for wreckage after a train crash in the Tempi Valley near Larissa, Greece.
(Credit: Vasilis VERVERIDIS/Eurokinissi/motionteam/AFP)
Separately, Kostas Karamanlis, now Greece's former transport minister after resigning after the accident, said in his resignation speech that the Greek rail system "is not up to 21st century standards".
"Ten seconds of nightmare": video shows train accident in Greece
"It is a fact that we received the Greek railway system in a state that is not up to the standards of the 21st century," he commented, adding that in the last three and a half years the government had "done everything possible to improve this reality".
"Unfortunately, our efforts have not been enough to prevent such a serious incident. And this weighs heavily on all of us and on me personally," Karamanlis added.
With reporting from CNN's Chris Liakos, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jennifer Hauser, Eleni Giokos, Allegra Goodwin and Elinda Labropoulou.
train crashGreece
