a collision between two trains leaves 32 dead and 85 injured

Thirty-two people died and 85 were injured on Tuesday evening, February 28, in a collision between a freight convoy and a passenger train connecting Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece). “Of the 85 people injured, 53 people remain hospitalized”said Wednesday the spokesman for the fire department, who added that the rescue operation was continuing.

No information has been given at this stage on the reasons for the accident. But, according to the Greek media, it is the “worse train accident than the [le pays] has ever known”. The collision, which occurred shortly before midnight near the town of Larissa in the Tempe Valley, derailed several wagons. Some were partially destroyed and one was completely crushed, making it difficult for rescuers to extract the survivors. Several people also found themselves trapped in a wagon that had caught fire, according to the public television channel ERT.

Some 150 firefighters, as well as 40 ambulances, were mobilized to the scene of the accident. Cranes and mechanics were also deployed to try to clear the debris and lift the overturned wagons. “Most of the passengers were brought to safety, assured the spokesman for the fire department. The operation to free trapped people is ongoing and is taking place under difficult conditions, due to the severity of the collision between the two trains.”