Many of the passengers would have been returning home after a long holiday weekend marking the beginning of Greek Orthodox lent. The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day. 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, said fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring some 85, Fire Service officials said. The crash took place outside the central city of Larissa late on Tuesday, when a passenger train heading from the capital, Athens, to Thessaloniki collided with a cargo train travelling from the northern city. This is called political responsibility.. Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis has since submitted his resignation over the incident. "There was panic the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left. At least two train cars appeared to be tipped sideways near the track, while one was severely dented, with gaping windows, as firefighters worked to extricate passengers. Were getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. According to the Italian company's website, it is the main provider of rail transport for passengers and freight in Greece and runs 342 passenger and commercial routes a day. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also visited the site, pledging to probe the causes of the crash and prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy. At least 66 of those injured were still hospitalized, six of them in intensive care, as of 10 a.m. local time. "This is an indescribable tragedy," said government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou. "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who was one of the first people on the scene. ', CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train, causing a fiery crash on Wednesday in northern Greece. 1837 Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad collision, Suffolk, Virginia; 3 killed plus dozens injured. Some victims were found up to 40 metres away. 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. Passengers killed, dozens injured in fiery Greece train crash. Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it, she told a joint news conference in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Credit:AP. Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights in the hours before dawn on Wednesday as they searched through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. Greece's ageing railway system is in need of modernising, with many trains travelling on single tracks and signalling and automatic control systems still to be installed in many areas. I can guarantee one thing: We will find out the causes of this tragedy and we will do all thats in our power so that something like this never happens again, Mitsotakis said, per the AP. The cargo train was traveling from Thessaloniki to Larissa with a crew of two. By 8:30 a.m., at least a dozen people, including rescue workers in uniform, continued to search through rubble at the base of an overturned blue passenger car that remained in an field, according to Reuters footage. Greeces firefighting service said 57 people remained hospitalized late Wednesday, including six in intensive care. Train crash, derailment in Greece injures at least 60 in fires, ruins. Man survives month lost in Amazon by eating insects, drinking urine. 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. Tuesday's was Greece's worst rail crash since 1968, when 34 people were killed in a crash in the southern Peloponnese region. I'm still shaking," a22-year-old passenger named Angelos told AFP. The cause remains unknown. About 250 passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed weretaken safely to Thessaloniki on busesearly on Wednesday morning. The cargo train it collided with wastravelling from Thessaloniki to the city ofLarissa. Another woman, who was waiting there, said her child was not picking up the phone. More than 15 others were discharged after receiving initial treatment. A passenger who escaped from the fifth carriage told the television network: "Windows were being smashed and people were screaming". Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. This is his story of survival. More than 200 people who were unharmed in the crash or suffered minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Our carriage didnt derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed, he said, visibly shaken. 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. "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. Police temporarily detained the station master in Larissa and at least three witnesses have been questioned, including a representative for Hellenic Train, a police official said. The first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed in the crash, with the first two carriages, which caught fire, almost completely destroyed, Agorastos said. Greece had the highest overall railway fatality rate among 29 countries studied in a 2022 safety report by the European Union Agency for Railways, as well as the seventh-highest passenger fatality rate. We are pulling out people alive, injured there are dead. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. Nearly 30 people were killed and 85 people were injured after a freight and passenger train collided with each other in Greece. Another passenger car appeared to be mangled as a crane slowly began lifting it. The crash killed at least 36 people and injured at least 85 people. They are in very bad condition. It will take a long time, said Sarianidis. The evacuation of victims was carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains, said Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greeces firefighting service. Many were evacuated to Thessaloniki, where one woman ran to embrace her daughter as she disembarked from a bus with other survivors. "This is a terrible night," Mr Agorastos had earlier told state-run television. 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. Karamanlis had pledged to investigate the cause of the incident. Source: Getty / Anadolu Agency, Murat whistled until he was found under rubble in Trkiye. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant car near the front of the passenger train. A passenger train and a freight train collided in northern Greece, killing at least 32 people and injuring 85 others as plumes of smoke filled the night sky. Police in the nearby city of Larissa said they had arrested a 59-year-old station master, who has been charged with causing mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence. By midafternoon, Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis had resigned. Local media said the train left Athens around 7.30 pm local time on Tuesday. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured after a head-on collision between a passenger and cargo train in Greece. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early on Wednesday.Credit:AP, We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides [] then there was panic, cables [everywhere] fire, the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burnt, fire was right and left.. The U.S. Embassy in Athens said it was not aware of any American victims, adding that it was deeply saddened by the news of the tragic train collision this morning. Condolences poured in from world leaders, and European Union flags in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels were lowered to half-staff. More than 200 people who were unharmed in the crash or suffered minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometresto the north. "We still don't know the exact number of victims, we will investigate the reasons for (the crash) in full transparency," Infrastructure and Transport minister Kostas Karamanlis, in tears, told reporters. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis said at a briefing Wednesday that the death toll was likely to rise as identifying remains from the first car of the passenger train in particular would be difficult due to the extreme heat of the fire that erupted. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars on impact. "They were travelling at great speed and one [driver] didn't know the other was coming," he said. Around 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to Thessaloniki, both of which are popular with tourists. There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming, a young man who was evacuated under a nearby bridge told SKAI TV. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou cut short a visit to Moldova and traveled to the crash site, where she laid white flowers among the wreckage, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. 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. Gatopoulos reported from Athens. At least 36 people have been killed and dozens injured after two trains crashed head-on at high speed in Greece. Now it's set for an overhaul. The front section of the train was smashed. I wasnt hurt but I was stained with blood from other people who were hurt near me, he said. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. 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. Another two people have been detained for questioning. 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. The head of emergency unit in Larissa hospital Apostolos Komnos said most of the victims were young people, in their 20s. Were working to restore it. Greek police said the manager of the train station in the central city of Larissa was arrested Wednesday in connection with the head-on collision. Associated Press reported reported that 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to More than 200 people who were unharmed or suffered minor injuries were taken by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. March 1, 2023 11.14am. "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed," he said, visibly shaken. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Gogakos said the crash felt like an explosion, and some smoke entered the carriage. We are facing an unimaginable tragedy, Sakellaropoulou said in a statement posted to her offices website. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. We are pulling out people alive, injuredthere are dead," he said. A passenger train and a freight train collided in northern Greece, killing at least 32 people and injuring 85 others as plumes of smoke filled the night sky. The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Greece sold railway operator TRAINOSE to Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 as part of its international bailout program, expecting hundreds of millions to be invested in rail infrastructure in the coming years. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. Many of the passengers were young, said Apostolos Komnos, the head of the intensive care unit at the General Hospital of Larissa. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life," AFP quoted one rescue worker as saying as he emerged from the wreckage. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. Police said the 59-year-old stationmaster in Larissa was arrested, and a further two people detained for questioning. For 10, 15 seconds it was chaos, Stergios Minenis, 28, told the BBC. Why, with todays technology that has existed for many years, should so many lives hang on a human hand?. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. This story will be updated as more information develops. Our country is experiencing an unspeakable tragedy, and we are all facing the huge question of why, he told journalists there, according to Kathimerini. Temperatures reached 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 Fahrenheit), which makes it even more difficult to identify the people who were in it, fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis said. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train causing a fiery crash on Wednesday in northern Greece. She told me were on fire. ", "It was a nightmare. We found a hole and from there we managed to get out. ", The regional governor added: "The front section of the train was smashed we're getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment to clear the debris and lift the rail cars. Larissa's chief coroner, Roubini Leondari, said so far 43 bodies had been brought to her for examination, and would require DNA identification as they were largely disfigured. "It's tragic. The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. The crash killed at least 26 people and injured at least 85 people. After sunrise, rescuers turned to heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of the trains. Please try again later. Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains collided head on at high speed. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. A 1968 train collision in the ancient coastal city of Corinth killed at least 34 people and injured dozens. Before dawn the next day, rescuers searched through twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. "The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.". Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. While the track is double, both trains were traveling in opposite directions on the same line near the Vale of Tempe, a river valley about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens.