"The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains," spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. The government declared three days of national mourning until Friday, with flags flying at half-mast in a tribute to the victims. Wed Mar 1 2023 - 06:16. When something so tragic happens, it is not possible to carry on as if nothing happened. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. One survivor said there was panic among passengers, and fires that burned 'right and left. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. "We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides then there was panic, cables (everywhere) the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned.". A passenger train collided with a freight train in Greece just before midnight on Feb. 28, killing 29 and injuring at least 85 people, authorities say. Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis has since submitted his resignation over the incident. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. The fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left.". Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the two trains ran into each other at high speed just before midnight Tuesday, near the town of Tempe in northern Greece. Government officials said the army has been asked to help with the rescue. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field next to the tracks. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropolou said she would cut short a visit to Moldovato return to Greece following the collision. A teenage survivor who did not give his name to reporters said that just before the crash he felt sudden braking and saw sparks and then there was a sudden stop. The collision between freight and passenger trains occurred some 235 miles north of Athens and left several cars derailed. Another two people have been detained for questioning. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows due to the impact. The government declared three days of national mourning from Wednesday, while flags flew at half-staff outside all European Commission buildings in Brussels. Five hours later, we are finding bodies.". What appeared to be the third carriage lay atop the clumped remains of the first two. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. "The 59-year-old station master was arrested," AFP quoted a local police spokesperson as saying, adding that charges would be announced later in the day, but providing no information on what those charges might be. Rescuer Lazaros Sarianidis told ERT that crews were very carefully trying to disentangle steel, sheet metal and other material that was twisted together by the crash. TEMPE, Greece (AP) A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train flattened carriages, killed at least 36 people and injured some 85, Greek officials said Wednesday. The crash killed at least 26 people and injured at least 85 people. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing 16 people and injuring at least 85, fire officials said. "It's hard to describe the scene. Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Patrick Quinn and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this story. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near a gorge, about 380 kilometres north of Athens. The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. Broadcaster SKAI showed footage of derailed carriages, thick plumes of smoke, badly damaged broken windows, and debris strewn across the road. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near the gorge, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens. A teenage survivor who did not give his name to reporters said that just before the crash he felt a strong braking and saw sparks then there was a sudden stop. After sunrise, rescuers turned to heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of the trains. (Video: The Washington Post). Visiting the accident scene, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said the government must help the injured recover and identify the dead. Workers also were seen on live broadcasts moving a body on a stretcher into an ambulance. Our carriage didnt derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed, he said, visibly shaken. Opinion: We are in a new cold war. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/passenger-train-freight-train-collide-central-greece/102038088. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near a gorge about 235 miles north of Athens. Some were scouring the surrounding fields for survivors. Others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled and slammedinto a field next to the tracks, some being burnt in the process. A volunteer rescue worker told ERT those on the scene were "living through a tragedy". We are pulling out people alive, injured there are dead.". Our first task is to treat the injured and, from there, to identify the bodies., Opposition politician Nikos Androulakis, a member of the European Parliament, flew in from Brussels to visit the site. TEMPE, Greece -- A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece, killing 32 and injuring at least 85, officials said Wednesday. At least 29 people are dead and 85 injured after a commercial train and a passenger train collided and derailed in Greece on Tuesday. At least 29 people are dead and 85 injured after a commercial train and a passenger train collided and derailed in Greece on Tuesday. There were many big pieces of steel, he said. A train carrying 350 passengers was traveling north from Athens to Thessaloniki when it ran headlong into a freight train traveling from Thessaloniki near the city of Larissa, CNN reported. I'm still shaking," a22-year-old passenger named Angelos told AFP. The collision was so violent that the first two carriages of the passenger train "no longer exist", he told Skai television. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early on Wednesday. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. "It was like an earthquake," Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told state broadcaster ERT. This is a terrifying process for parents and relatives who are here. "Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed," he said. "We heard a big bang, [it was] 10 nightmarish seconds," said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Greece train crash is deadliest in decades. ", "The front section of the train was smashed. Konstantinos Agorastos, the governor of the broader Thessaly region, told broadcaster SKAI TV that the trains had been travelling towards each other on the same track. They did not release the mans name or the reason for the arrest, but the stationmaster is responsible for rail traffic on that stretch of the tracks. "The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains," spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. The crash occurred as the passenger train emerged from a tunnel. Rail operator Hellenic Train saidabout 350 people were travelling on the passenger train, which left Athens at about7:30pm local time for the northern city of Thessaloniki. Officials said many of the passengers on the Athens to Thessaloniki train were university students returning home after celebrating Carnival over the long weekend. A passenger train and a cargo train have collided head-on in Greece, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks. Why did Twitter suspend Sen. Mike Lees personal account? "I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.". Greece sold railway operator TRAINOSE to Italys Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 as part of its international bailout programme, in the expectation that hundreds of millions of euros would be invested in rail infrastructure. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. An aerial view after a train collision in northern Greece that killed at least 32 people. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. More than 200 people who were unharmed or suffered minor injuries were taken by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Rescuers are searching wreckage for survivors after 26 people died and at least 85 were injured in a collision between a passenger train and a freight train in central Greece. Gogakos said the crash felt like an explosion, and some smoke entered the carriage. "This is a terrible tragedy that is hard to comprehend," said deputy health minister Mina Gaga. Wed Mar 1 2023 - 06:16. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a freight train outside Larissa just before midnight. "I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.". A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train causing a fiery crash on Wednesday in northern Greece. A man who was trying to ascertain the fate of his daughter, who was on the train, saying he had a harrowing phone conversation with her before she was cut off. (AP) The incident took place in Tempe, near the north of Athens. Now it's set for an overhaul. "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. March 1, 2023 11.14am. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. The crash, which also injured 85 people, occurred shortly before midnight in the Tempe Valley in central Greece, the Hellenic Fire Service said. Train collision in Greece kills at least 36; station master arrested. Watch Live: Closing arguments begin in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Intel review says "very unlikely" foreign adversary behind "Havana Syndrome", Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Watch Live: Garland testifies amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains, Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greeces firefighting service, told the AP. Also were seen from where the accident took place in Tempe, the! ), abc.net.au/news/passenger-train-freight-train-collide-central-greece/102038088 Station a Toronto, on Canada, M5W 1E6 being burned, fire was immediate as! Front did and were smashed, he said has been asked to help with the rescue a to! 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