Visiting the crash scene, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the government must help the injured recover and identify the dead. Police said several carriages came off the rails, with at least three of them catching fire. We are going to be here all night, until we finish, until we find the last person, a volunteer rescue worker told the ERT public broadcaster. Footage from the crash site showed flames surrounding the derailed train cars, as well as the swirling lights of firetrucks and ambulances nearby. Hellenic Train, which has added high-speed services in recent years, is operated by Italy's FS Group, which runs rail services in several European countries. He said it appears the crash was "mainly due to a tragic human error.. "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. A teenage survivor who did not give his name told reporters that just before the crash he felt a strong braking and saw sparks then there was a sudden stop. Its tragic. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. "Based on these facts, and the findings from the scene of the tragedy, the number is expected to be greater" than the current toll of 36. A train carrying hundreds of passengers collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. A police statement identified the person arrestedonly as a 59-year-old man. Officials said this included university students returning home after a long holiday weekend marking the beginning of Greek Orthodox lent. 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. In the morning, cranes were lifting derailed carriages, as rescuers scoured through the wreckage. Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed, he said. Passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 80 miles to the north. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained as of Wednesday morning. There's debris flung all around the crash site.". ", "The front section of the train was smashed. "This is a terrible night," Mr Agorastos had earlier told state-run television. Our carriage didnt derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed, he said, visibly shaken. "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed," he said, visibly shaken. Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. "The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.". Another passenger car appeared to be mangled as a crane slowly began lifting it. He added that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape. Passenger train from Athens collides head-on with freight train in Greece, killing 36 people. Agorastos described the collision on state television as "very powerful" and said it was "a terrible night. The possible cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. At least 66 of those injured were still hospitalized, six of them in intensive care, as of 10 a.m. local time. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars on impact. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. Unfortunately, our efforts have not been sufficient to prevent such a bad incident. "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. The crash occurred as the passenger train emerged from a tunnel. Many of the approximately 350 people aboard the passenger train were students returning from Greeces raucous Carnival, officials said. Survivors said some passengers were thrown from the train car windows on impact. "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. "It was like an earthquake," Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told state broadcaster ERT. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant area near the front of the passenger train. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. One of the questions investigators need to answer is why the two trains were, according to Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos, running on the same track when they crashed. Dozens hurt in fiery train crash, derailment in Greece. 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. 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. Hospital units used to treat burn victims in the area were alerted and dozens of ambulances dispatched to the scene. 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. 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. Agorastor told SKAI TV the two trains collided head on the passenger train travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki, and a cargo train from Thessaloniki to Larissa. He said windows shattered, showering riders with glass. An emergency government meeting was organised after the crash and Greek health minister Thanos Plevris went to the scene. 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. "They were looking around, searching; they didn't know where they were.". 1837 Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad collision, Suffolk, Virginia; 3 killed plus dozens injured. 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. 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. After sunrise, they turned to heavy machinery that had been brought in to start moving large pieces of the trains. Agorastos described the collision on state television as "very powerful" and said it was "a terrible night. The crash killed at least 36 people and injured at least 85 people. Please enter valid email address to continue. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. Our carriage didnt derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed, he said, visibly shaken. It will take a long time, said Sarianidis. Later in the year, a second accident resulted in ten injuries, with two of them ultimately dying. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. The cause of the deadliest rail crash in Greece in decades remained unclear. Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Patrick Quinn and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this story. The region's governor said the collision was so violent that the first two carriages of the passenger train "no longer exist". He said that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape. What appeared to be the third carriage lay atop the clumped remains of the first two. Rail operator Hellenic Train expressed "its deep sorrow for the tragic accident" and said the passenger train had about 350 people on board. Many were evacuated to Thessaloniki, where one woman ran to embrace her daughter as she disembarked from a bus with other survivors. He said he was taking responsibility for "long-standing failures" in the country's transport network. COSTAS KANTOURIS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Train crash, derailment in Greece injures at least 60 in fires, ruins. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. 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. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. Now it's set for an overhaul. At least 36 people were killed and dozens injured in a head-on collision between two trains in Greece, local authorities said. The collision was so violent that the first two carriages of the passenger train "no longer exist", he told Skai television. Eight rail employees were among those killed, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train, according to Greek Railroad Workers Union president Yannis Nitsas. "This is an indescribable tragedy," said government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou. They were looking around, searching; they didnt know where they were.. This is an indescribable tragedy, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said, adding that 500 workers from emergency services were at the scene of the crash. Later in the year, a second accident resulted in ten injuries, with two of them ultimately dying. People, naturally, were scared very scared, he said. We found a hole and from there we managed to get out. 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. Some victims were found up to 40 metres away. Theres debris flung all around the crash site.. Some of the victims were university students, Health Minister Athanasios Plevris said in televised remarks outside the hospital. Around 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to Thessaloniki, both of which are popular with tourists. While the cause of Tuesday's collision was not immediately clear, Greece's ageing railway system has long been in need of modernising, with many trains travelling on single tracks and signalling and automatic control systems yet to be installed in many areas. 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. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. Others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled and slammedinto a field next to the tracks, some being burnt in the process. Tumbling over, fires, cables hanging, broken windows, people screaming, people trapped.. Gogakos said the crash felt like an explosion, and some smoke entered the carriage. A picture taken with a drone shows firefighters and rescue crews working to extricate passengers from trains after a collision near Larissa city, Greece. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in central Greece late on Tuesday night, killing 36 peopleand injuring at least 85. ', CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field next to 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. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in Larissa, and at least 150 firefighters and dozens of emergency vehicles were dispatched to the crash site. In the Philippines, there are more mothers like her, 'Western law has finally caught up.' "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. Multiple cars derailed and at least one burst into flames. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day. There was panic in the carriage, you couldn't see around you because of the smoke.". There's debris flung all around the crash site.". Hellenic Train is operated by Italys FS Group, which runs rail services in several European countries. The cargo train was traveling from Thessaloniki to Larissa with a crew of two. I can guarantee one thing: We will find out the causes of this tragedy and we will do all that's in our power so that something like this never happens again, Mitsotakis said. Smoke rose from trains as firefighters and rescuers tried to help out the victims after the accident. Passengers who were on board the train from Athens spoke to local media early on Wednesday morning, describing the frenzied scenes in the aftermath of the crash. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. TEMPE, Greece -- Rescuers searched for survivors Wednesday in the mangled, burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country's worst-ever rail crash. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. 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. 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. ", 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. We are pulling out people alive, injuredthere are dead," he said. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains collided head on at high speed. 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.. "They were looking around, searching; they didn't know where they were. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. We are living through a tragedy. 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. Immediately clear the northbound passenger train buckled, slamming into a field to! 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