(Updated the death toll and other details)
Athens, March 1. A collision of two trains last night north of Larissa, in central Greece, left at least 32 people dead and more than 85 injured, 25 of them seriously, local authorities reported on Wednesday, while searches for passengers continue among the remains of the vehicles. .
“So far, 32 bodies have been found,” said Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, spokesman for the fire brigade, quoted by the Greek television channel ERT.
This is a provisional assessment, since the firefighters estimate that among the remains of the third passenger car, where they recovered the last two dead bodies, there are still a dozen corpses.
Of the 85 injured who were taken to hospital, 25 are in serious condition, while a total of 53 are still under treatment and the rest have been discharged.
The most seriously injured are in Larissa hospital. The passenger train covered the Athens-Thessaloniki route, while the commercial train, probably carrying sheet metal, covered the Thessaloniki-Athens route.
In the two trains, one passenger and the other commercial, 346 passengers and 20 crew members were traveling, explained the railway company “Hellenic Train”.
The trains collided shortly before local midnight (2200 GMT) near Tempe, a small town in a valley where there is a rail tunnel, about 300 kilometers north of Athens.
Several cars derailed and at least three caught fire in the accident.
Among the injured are several minors, who were traveling on the night train between Athens and Thessaloniki, the country’s two main urban centers.
According to the local press, everything indicates that the trains – both operated by “Hellenic Train” – were traveling at high speed at the time of the impact, which is why the respective drivers and other crew members died in the accident.
Some 250 people unharmed or slightly injured were transferred by bus to Thessaloniki, located 130 kilometers north of the accident site.
A journalist sent to the scene of the accident spoke on a station of “apocalyptic” scenes.
Due to the severity of the collision, debris from both trains was thrown a great distance.
Early estimates point to human error with the two trains running on the same track.
Thessaly regional governor Kostas Agorastos told ERT that the two trains were on the same track at the time of the collision.
However, it is also possible that one of the trains derailed and crashed into the other on the other track, private broadcaster SKAI TV said. EFE
dsp-jk-wr/ah
(Photo)