A freight train and a passenger train collided head-on, officials said.
Mar 1, 2023 9:46 am ET
• 7 minutes reading time
At least 36 people were killed and more than 80 others injured in a head-on collision between a freight train and a passenger train in Greece late Tuesday, officials said.
The crash happened just before midnight in the town of Tempi along the Athens-Thessaloniki route at the entrance to the Vale of Tempe, a tree-lined gorge separating the northern Greek regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The two trains converged on the same track and the force of the high-speed collision derailed several cars, some of which burst into flames, according to the Hellenic Fire Brigade.
According to Greek rail operator Hellenic Train, about 350 people were on board the northbound passenger train that traveled from Athens to Thessaloniki.
Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescue workers operate after a collision near the city of Larissa, Greece March 1, 2023.Vaggelis Kousioras/APA man walks to the site of an accident where two trains collided, nearby of Larissa city, Greece, March 1, 2023.Kostas Mantziaris/Portal
According to the Greek Fire Service, at least 150 firefighters, including some from special forces, and 40 ambulances, supported by 32 police officers and 15 patrol cars, were on the scene.
The next morning, rescuers were still searching for survivors in the smoking rubble and used cranes to lift the derailed wagons. Their efforts initially focused on the first two cars, which “overturned” and were “the most difficult to extricate,” a spokesman for the Hellenic Fire Service said in a statement early Wednesday.
The force of the impact caused the passenger train’s dining car to rest on two other cars. A fire broke out in that carriage, with temperatures reaching 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 degrees Fahrenheit), “making it difficult to identify the people inside,” the spokesman for the Hellenic Fire Brigade said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
A medic treats an injured passenger after two trains collided near the city of Larissa in Thessaloniki, Greece March 1, 2023 March 1, 2023.Vaggelis Kousioras/AP
A 59-year-old Greek national has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the fatal accident, according to the Greek Greek Police.
Meanwhile, authorities are still working to identify the dead, whose bodies were taken to the general hospital in the nearby town of Larissa, a Greek police spokesman said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
72 of the injured remain hospitalized, including six in critical condition, while the rest have been treated and discharged, according to the Hellenic Fire Service.
Firefighters and rescue workers work to extricate passengers from trains after a collision near Larissa, Greece March 1, 2023.Achilleas Chiras/EPA via ShutterstockFirefighters and rescue workers operate after a collision in Tempe, near Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023.Vaggelis Kousioras/AP
The Greek government declared three days of national mourning after the tragedy.
Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced his resignation on Wednesday after visiting the Tempi crash site.
“When something so tragic happens, it’s impossible to carry on as if it didn’t happen,” Karamanlis wrote in a post on Facebook. “That’s called political responsibility.”