Train collision in Greece kills 32, injures 85
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Tuesday, a passenger train collided with a freight one head-on at high speed in northern Greece, killing 32 and injuring 85 people.
Greek officials said the train was carrying 350 passengers when the collision happened near the town of Tempe north of Thessaly.
Several carriages derailed and caught fire. Metal pieces of others scattered around the scene of the crash.
One survivor told AP that the first carriages were crushed. “Our carriage didn’t derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed,” he said.
“The front section of the train was smashed. … We’re getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. There’s debris flung all around the crash site,” Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, said to state television.
Firefighters and rescue teams are searching in terrible conditions for survivors that may be trapped under the wreckage of both trains.
The AP reported citing a spokesperson for Greece’s firefighting service, “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.”
The passengers who sustained injuries were taken to a hospital in a town near the crash site, and at least 25 people suffered from critical injuries.
So far, the cause of the two trains’ collision is still not clear.