at least 36 people dead and dozens injured in the collision of two trains

First modification: 03/01/2023 – 12:20

“An indescribable tragedy.” This is how the Greek government spokesman, Giannis Oikonomou, described the head-on collision between two trains, one freight and the other passenger, which left at least 36 people dead and 85 injured.

Several carriages derailed and at least three caught fire after the two vehicles collided with each other at high speed just before midnight near the northern Greek city of Tempe.

The impact threw several of the passengers out of the windows of the train cars, while others struggled to get out of the railcar after it bowed, several of the survivors said.

“People naturally were very scared. They were looking around, searching, they didn’t know where they were (…) The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and cargo,” said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the accident.

The fatalities included eight railway employees, including the two freight train drivers and the two passenger train drivers, the president of the Greek Railway Workers Union, Yannis Nitsas, confirmed.

The Government of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, declared three days of national mourning, starting this Wednesday, March 1.

From Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, declared that “all of Europe is in mourning”; while the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, expressed her “deep sadness” for what happened.

“It is a terrible tragedy, difficult to understand”

About 350 people were transported on the passenger train. Most of them were students returning from a carnival.

“This is a terrible tragedy that is difficult to understand (…) I am very sorry for the parents of these children,” stressed the Deputy Minister of Health, Mina Gaga.

This was the first year that the three-day festival, which precedes Lent, has been held in its entirety since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou added that some 500 emergency services workers had gone to the scene of the accident.

“The evacuation process continues and is carried out in very difficult conditions due to the seriousness of the collision between the two trains,” said the spokesman for the fire service, Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, in the first hours of the incident.

After dawn, rescuers used heavy machinery to begin moving large parts of the trains, leading to the discovery of more fatalities and dismembered remains. Members of the Army were summoned to help in the search and recovery of bodies.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to visit the site in the coming hours.

With Reuters and AP