Following a head-on collision between two trains in central Greece that left dozens dead and scores injured, rescue personnel are desperately looking for survivors.
The Greek Fire Service reported that the crash, which occurred on Tuesday, February 28, just before midnight in Tempi, central Greece, close to the city of Larissa, resulted in at least 32 fatalities and more than 85 injuries when a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train.
“We just heard a bang… the (train) car started spinning, before ending up sideways when we managed to exit,” one male passenger told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
“It was 10 nightmarish seconds with fire, you couldn’t see much from the smoke,” said a second passenger.
The Greek Fire Service reported that recovery efforts were under way with focus on the first two passenger train carriages. The number of fatalities is anticipated to increase.
The passenger train had been traveling from the capital Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, which is renowned for its festivals and vibrant cultural life.
The accident follows a nationwide carnival at the weekend which ended with a public holiday on Monday.
According to Vassilis Varthakogiannis, a spokesman for the Greek Fire Service, 194 passengers were safely transported to Thessaloniki, and 20 others were transported by bus to the city of Larissa. 53 of the 85 injured people remained in hospitals, he added.
According to Varthakogiannis, the rescue operation involves at least 150 firefighters, 17 vehicles, and 40 ambulances.
The Greek railway company, Hellenic Train, said in a press release that there was “a head-on collision between two trains: a freight train and train IC 62 which had departed from Athens to Thessaloniki.”
Authorities claimed that the cause of the collision is still unknown.
Author-Roberta Appiah
