Greek authorities said they had started identifying victims but did not yet know the exact toll, with at least 194 surviving passengers transferred to Thessaloniki by bus. Credit:AP. "The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.". "People, naturally, were scared very scared," he said. Some of the victims were university students, Health Minister Athanasios Plevris said in televised remarks outside the hospital. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train's rear cars as he arrived. "I can guarantee one thing: We will find out the causes of this tragedy and we will do all that's in our power so that something like this never happens again," Mitsotakis said. Many of the passengers would have been returning home after a long holiday weekend marking the beginning of Greek Orthodox lent. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains crashed head on at high speed. How much could a short, brisk daily walk lower your health risks? Dozens hurt in fiery train crash, derailment in Greece. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. All Rights Reserved, Stationmaster arrested in connection to Greece train crash that killed at least 36. We are going to be here all night, until we finish, until we find the last person, a volunteer rescue worker told state broadcaster ERT. "This is a terrible tragedy that is hard to comprehend," said Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga. Many of the passengers were students returning to Thessaloniki from Carnival, but officials said but no detailed passenger list was available. Temperatures reached 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 Fahrenheit), which makes it even more difficult to identify the people who were in it, fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis said. Why, with todays technology that has existed for many years, should so many lives hang on a human hand?. We are talking about an unspeakable tragedy. Pic: AP, Aerials in daylight show extent of train crash in Greece. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision just before midnight Tuesday near the town of Tempe as the passenger train was emerging from a highway underpass. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/passenger-train-freight-train-collide-central-greece/102038088. Train crash, derailment in Greece injures at least 60 in fires, ruins. 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, Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greeces firefighting service, told the AP. First published on February 28, 2023 / 9:00 PM. Two carriages of train in 'nightmare' crash 'no longer exist' - follow live updates. Karamanlis said the Greek railway system was not up to 21st-century standards when he took office. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring some 85, Fire Service officials said. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. The collision occurred as the passenger train emerged from a tunnel near the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Authorities arrested the stationmaster at the trains last stop, in the city of Larissa. This year was the first time the festival, which precedes Lent, was celebrated in full since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, Marie has been charged with reprehensible crimes. Wed Mar 1 2023 - 06:16. Rescuers in Larissa, Greece are searching for survivors in the twisted remains of a passenger train and freight train that collided at high speed shortly before midnight. Most (of the bodies) are young people, she told ERT. The passenger train was carrying 342 travellers and 10 crew, while two crew were on the cargo train, according to Hellenic Train data. Greece's federal transport minister said he had submitted his resignation in the wake of the tragedy, calling it "the least he could do to honor the memory of the victims" as he spoke on live television. A passenger train collided with a freight train in Greece just before midnight on Feb. 28, killing 29 and injuring at least 85 people, authorities say. "The front section of the train was smashed we're getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment to clear the debris and lift the rail cars," he said. The passenger train was traveling from the capital, Athens, to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, when it and the cargo train collided. Updated on: March 1, 2023 / 9:20 AM They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near a gorge about 235 miles north of Athens. A crane operator, firefighters and rescuers work the scene of a collision in Tempe, about 235 miles north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. March 1, 2023 11.14am. Smoke rose from trains as firefighters and rescuers tried to help out the victims after the accident. Fire Service Officials said 32 people were killed and at least 85 were injured. A teenage survivor who did not give his name told reporters that just before the crash he felt a strong braking and saw sparks then there was a sudden stop. There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming, a young man who was evacuated to a nearby bridge told SKAI TV. Dozens hurt in fiery train crash, derailment in Greece. 1837 Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad collision, Suffolk, Virginia; 3 killed plus dozens injured. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Agorastos described the collision on state television as "very powerful" and said it was "a terrible night. Our country is experiencing an unspeakable tragedy, and we are all facing the huge question of why, he told journalists there, according to Kathimerini. Opinion: We are in a new cold war. There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming, a young man who was evacuated under a nearby bridge told SKAI TV. He added that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape. There were many big pieces of steel, said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. Web19th century 1830s. "The 59-year-old station master was arrested," AFP quoted a local police spokesperson as saying, adding that charges would be announced later in the day, but providing no information on what those charges might be. Rescuers are searching wreckage for survivors after 26 people died and at least 85 were injured in a collision between a passenger train and a freight train in central Greece. March 1, 2023 11.14am. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. Officials said many of the passengers on board the Athens to Thessaloniki train had been university students returning home after celebrating Carnival over the long weekend. Passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130km to the north. Greece sold railway operator TRAINOSE to Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 as part of its international bailout program, expecting hundreds of millions to be invested in rail infrastructure in the coming years. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision just before midnight Tuesday near the town of Tempe as the passenger train was emerging from a highway underpass. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. More than 15 others were discharged after receiving initial treatment. A passenger train collided with a freight train in Greece just before midnight on Feb. 28, killing 29 and injuring at least 85 people, authorities say. He said 40 passengers had been taken to hospital with injuries, while about 250 were evacuated to Thessaloniki on buses. Rescuer Lazaros Sarianidis told ERT that crews were very carefully trying to disentangle steel, sheet metal and other material that was twisted together by the crash. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. On Wednesday, the government declared three days of national mourning. Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. The crash killed at least 26 people and injured at least 85 people. Police temporarily detained the station master in Larissa and at least three witnesses have been questioned, including a representative for Hellenic Train, a police official said. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in Larissa, and at least 150 firefighters and dozens of emergency vehicles were dispatched to the crash site. They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didnt know the other was coming, he added. We're getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. They did not release the mans name or the reason for the arrest, but the stationmaster is responsible for rail traffic on that stretch of the tracks. "We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides then there was panic, cables (everywhere) the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned.". Tuesday's was Greece's worst rail crash since 1968, when 34 people were killed in a crash in the southern Peloponnese region. A picture taken with a drone shows firefighters and rescue crews working to extricate passengers from trains after a collision near Larissa city, Greece. / CBS/AP. More than 200 people who were unharmed in the crash or suffered minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Greeces firefighting service said 57 people remained hospitalized late Wednesday, including six in intensive care. This is a terrifying process for parents and relatives who are here. "People, naturally, were scared - very scared," he said. Fire service spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis said the evacuation was being carried out under very difficult conditions. A local TV channel reported that some people were still trapped earlier in the morning. Greek police said the manager of the train station in the central city of Larissa was arrested Wednesday in connection with the head-on collision. In these 3.5 years, we have made every effort to improve this reality, he said as he announced his resignation. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece. "This is a terrible night," Mr Agorastos had earlier told state-run television. A passenger train and a cargo train have collided head-on in Greece, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. The government announced three days of national mourning. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ", "The front section of the train was smashed. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant car near the front of the passenger train. TEMPE, Greece -- Rescuers searched for survivors Wednesday in the mangled, burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country's worst-ever rail crash. "I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.". We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. "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," spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. The fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left.". He said it was a terrible night. The crash occurred as the passenger train emerged from a tunnel. The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. "Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it," she told a jointnews conference in Chisinau with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. The possible cause of the collision was not immediately clear. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing 16 people and injuring at least 85, fire officials said. We found a hole and from there we managed to get out. Derailed carriages, badly damaged with broken windows and thick plumes of smoke, could be seen on the site. Multiple cars derailed and at least one burst into flames. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis office announced a three-day national mourning period. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Some were scouring the surrounding fields for survivors. Greece had the highest overall railway fatality rate among 29 countries studied in a 2022 safety report by the European Union Agency for Railways, as well as the seventh-highest passenger fatality rate. This is called political responsibility.. Police said several carriages came off the rails, with at least three of them catching fire. At least two train cars appeared to be tipped sideways near the track, while one was severely dented, with gaping windows, as firefighters worked to extricate passengers. Government officials said the army has been asked to help with the rescue. At least 29 people are dead and 85 injured after a commercial train and a passenger train collided and derailed in Greece on Tuesday. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Greece train crash is deadliest in decades. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 people had serious injuries. Another passenger car appeared to be mangled as a crane slowly began lifting it. A volunteer rescue worker told ERT those on the scene were "living through a tragedy". He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the trains rear cars as he arrived. COSTAS KANTOURIS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Rescuers turned to heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of wreckage, revealing more bodies and dismembered remains. (AP) The incident took place in Tempe, near the north of Athens. A teenage survivor who did not give his name to reporters said that just before the crash he felt sudden braking and saw sparks and then there was a sudden stop. Why did Twitter suspend Sen. Mike Lees personal account? Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also visited the site, pledging to probe the causes of the crash and prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy. 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