"I felt a strong impact, but not the brakes," describes a passenger on the train in Greece 2:13
(CNN) --
Anger in Greece over poor rail safety grew Thursday as the death toll from one of the country's worst train accidents in recent years reached 57.
Protesters took to the streets after a head-on collision between a passenger train carrying more than 350 people and a freight train Tuesday night in Tempi, near the city of Larissa.
Protesters clashed with police in the capital Athens as the country's transport minister resigned in the wake of the tragedy and a railway workers' union went on strike, accusing the government of "lack of respect" in the sector.
Another 48 people remain in hospital as a result of the accident, which left overturned carriages and burned debris in its wake.
Six of the injured who are being treated are in critical condition due to head injuries and serious burns, the public broadcaster ERT reported on Thursday.
The images of the tragic train accident in Greece that leaves dozens dead and injured
Drone video shows the train accident in Greece 1:20
Disturbing recordings show human error in train crash
After a train station manager in Larissa was arrested in connection with the collision, Greek authorities also released shocking audio recordings on Thursday showing one of the train drivers being instructed to ignore a red light.
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"Continue through the red light exit to the Neon Poron traffic light entrance," the stationmaster is heard saying.
“Vasilis, am I ready to go?” the train conductor replies, to which the master says “go on, go on”.
In a second conversation, the stationmaster can be heard ordering an employee to keep one of the trains on the same track.
“Should I turn now?” the clerk asks.
“No, no, because 1564 is on this route,” says the stationmaster.
The stationmaster was charged with wrongful mass death and negligently causing serious bodily injury.
Upon arrest, he blamed the crash on a technical glitch, though he later admitted to "making a mistake."
The protests targeted the offices of the Greek railway company, Hellenic Train, in Athens. (Credit: Socrates Baltagiannis/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Protesters take to the streets of Athens
Protesters gathered in front of the Greek railway company Hellenic Train's headquarters in Athens again on Thursday night, in a demonstration organized by student and worker unions.
Police already had a presence outside the Hellenic Train headquarters before the protesters arrived.
The protest was peaceful, after the riots on Wednesday in which protesters clashed with the police.
Most of the passengers involved in the crash were young, a local hospital told ERT.
The accident occurred shortly after a holiday weekend.
Search and rescue operations continue this Friday at the crash site, according to the Fire Service.
Meanwhile, relatives of the missing are still awaiting word on their loved ones as the identification process continues at Larissa General Hospital.
How and why did the train accident in Greece occur?
What we know so far
Protesters, pictured on February 28, clash with riot police in the streets of Athens, after a collision on Tuesday killed dozens and injured dozens more. (Credit: Socrates Baltagiannis/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Speaking to Greek media earlier, Dimitris Bournazis, who is trying to get news about his father and brother, said no one has given him any information.
Bournazis said he was trying to contact the company to find out where on the train his relatives were sitting at the time of the accident.
He said he called the Hellenic Train offices three times, but no one returned his call.
“The prime minister and the health minister came here yesterday.
Because?
Do what?
To explain what?
Where are they today?" Bournazis told Greek broadcaster SKAI, adding that "no one has given us any information, no one knows how many people were actually inside."
“We cannot blame a single person for this due to a mistake.
Where is everyone else now?
Everyone is waiting for the election to speak,” she said.
Speaking to ERT, passenger Andreas Alikaniotis, who was in the second car during the collision, described the moments after the accident.
“What we did was break the glass, which was already broken, and throw the luggage out of the carriage, so we can land on a soft place,” he told ERT, describing how he helped around 10 people escape.
"We jumped from 3 to 4 meters," he added, "first the most seriously injured and then we the lightly injured"
Alikaniotis added that she remembers picking up two or three girls and helping them reach the window to jump.
“There was panic,” she added.
A passenger on the crashed train in Greece describes the moment of the fatal crash
An aerial photo from a drone taken Wednesday shows emergency crews searching for debris from the crash, which left dozens dead and injured. (Credit: Vasilis Ververidis/Eurokinissi/motionteam/AFP/Getty Images)
"Grief Turned to Anger"
Greece has a weak rail passenger safety record compared to other countries in Europe, recording the highest rail fatality rate per million train kilometers from 2018 to 2020 among 28 nations on the continent, according to a 2022 report by the Agency. of Railways of the European Union.
In an extraordinary meeting, the Greek federation of railway workers unanimously decided to start the 24-hour strike on Thursday to denounce the poor working conditions and the chronic shortage of personnel.
He accused the federal government of "disrespect" to the railroads for causing the accident, saying that "more permanent staff, better training and mainly the implementation of modern safety systems, are permanently thrown away."
Separately, the Greek metro workers announced another 24-hour strike: “There are no words to describe such a tragedy,” they said in a statement.
Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis said the rail system the government inherited was "not up to 21st century standards" when he resigned on Wednesday.
In a televised speech after visiting the crash site, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the collision was "mainly" due to "tragic human error."
He said the transport minister's decision to resign was honorable, adding that the heads of the Hellenic Railway Organization and its subsidiary ERGOSE have also tendered their resignations.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attributed the accident to "tragic human error" while visiting the scene of the incident in Tempi on Wednesday. (Credit: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Condolences have poured in from around the world as a three-day period of mourning is underway in Greece.
King Charles of England said in a statement that he and his wife Camilla, the queen consort, were "extremely shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the terrible accident."
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the victims of the terrible accident that took place last night near Larissa.
France is on the side of the Greeks.
-- CNN's Heather Chen, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jennifer Hauser and Max Foster contributed to this report.
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