Authorities say at least 36 people were killed and 85 were injured after two trains collided in the Greek city of Larissa on Wednesday, as emergency crews rushed to find survivors among the charred wreckage.
Many carriages were nearly completely destroyed in Tuesday’s accident between a passenger train and a freight train, with at least one car appearing to catch fire and trap passengers inside.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my whole life,” one rescue worker said as he escaped through the wreckage. “It’s terrible. We retrieved bodies five hours later.”
Many cars emitted smoke and flames, some of which had overturned when they collided with the rails, leaving a tangled mess of metal.
The passenger train, carrying 350 passengers, was traveling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki.
According to Greek media, it was carrying numerous students returning to Thessaloniki after a long holiday weekend.
“It was like a nightmare… “I’m still shaking,” Angelos, a 22-year-old passenger, told AFP.
“Lucky, we were in the last car and made it out alive. There was a fire in the first automobiles, and everyone was terrified.”
“The collision was like a huge earthquake.”
Some 150 firefighters and 40 ambulances were mobilized for the response, according to Greek emergency services.
“The operation to free trapped people is under way and is taking place in difficult conditions, due to the seriousness of the collision between the two trains,” spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told reporters.
He said that 32 people have been found dead, while 53 of the injured were in hospital.
But the toll was expected to rise as cranes and rescuers worked through the debris.
“I was stained with blood from other people who were injured near me,” a passenger named Lazos told the newspaper Protothema.
It is not yet known why the two trains collided in what local media is calling the worst “train accident that Greece has ever known”.
“The death toll is likely to be very high”, regional governor Kostas Agorastos told the Skai TV channel.
He said the first two carriages on the passenger train “no longer exist at all”.
Disclaimer
The provided information is intended for general awareness and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. The post disclaims any warranties regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the content, services, or graphics on the website. It advises caution when using the information for any purpose.