Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned in the wake of the crash, saying he felt it was his "duty" to step down "as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly.". Were working to restore it. 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. "This is an indescribable tragedy," said government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou. More than 15 others were discharged after receiving initial treatment. Emergency workers found several bodies dozens of meters (feet) away from the cars, ERT reported. "We are living through a tragedy. At least 36 people have been killed and dozens injured after two trains crashed head-on at high speed in Greece. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains crashed head on at high speed. Passengers killed, dozens injured in fiery Greece train crash. Some were scouring the surrounding fields for survivors. The cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos saidthe two trains hurtled towards each other on the same track. Greece train crash: Dozens killed in head-on rail collision north of Athens, A crane, firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece. "They were looking around, searching; they didn't know where they were. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. "We heard a big bang, [it was] 10 nightmarish seconds," said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage. Many of those aboard the passenger train were students returning from Greece's raucous Carnival, officials said. Train crash, derailment in Greece injures at least 60 in fires, ruins. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. Around 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to Thessaloniki, both of which are popular with tourists. Greece's ageing railway system is in need of modernising, with many trains travelling on single tracks and signalling and automatic control systems still to be installed in many areas. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision, which took place just before midnight near the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Our first task is to treat the injured and, from there, to identify the bodies., Opposition politician Nikos Androulakis, a member of the European Parliament, flew in from Brussels to visit the site. At least 29 people are dead and 85 injured after a commercial train and a passenger train collided and derailed in Greece on Tuesday. We are pulling out people alive, injured there are dead.". The government declared three days of national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast in a tribute to the victims of the crash. He said he was taking responsibility for "long-standing failures" in the country's transport network. People, naturally, were scared very scared, he said. An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News, Interviews and feature reports from SBS News, A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability, Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service. ATHENS A passenger train and a freight train collided late Tuesday in central Greece, killing at least 36 people and leading to the arrest of a station master and the resignation of a government minister. At least 36 people were killed and dozens injured in a head-on collision between two trains in Greece, local authorities said. Visiting the crash scene, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the government must help the injured recover and identify the dead. Wed Mar 1 2023 - 06:16. Is it more dangerous than the old one? The crash took place outside the central city of Larissa late on Tuesday, when a passenger train heading from the capital, Athens, to Thessaloniki collided with a cargo train travelling from the northern city. SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia. We are living through a tragedy. Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis has since submitted his resignation over the incident. One passenger told state broadcaster ERT: "There was fire next to us. There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming, a young man who was evacuated under a nearby bridge told SKAI TV. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. Watch Live: Closing arguments begin in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Intel review says "very unlikely" foreign adversary behind "Havana Syndrome", Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Watch Live: Garland testifies amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. The collision between a freight and passenger train occurred near Tempe, some 380 kilometres north of Athens, and resulted in the derailment of several train cars. Agorastor told SKAI TV the two trains collided head on the passenger train travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki, and a cargo train from Thessaloniki to Larissa. 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. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. The collision was so violent that the first two carriages of the passenger train "no longer exist", he told Skai television. 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. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early on Wednesday.Credit:AP, We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides [] then there was panic, cables [everywhere] fire, the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burnt, fire was right and left.. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. TEMPE, Greece -- A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece, killing 32 and injuring at least 85, officials said Wednesday. 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. The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.. On Wednesday, rescuers turned to cranes and other heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of the trains, revealing more bodies and dismembered remains. Police said several carriages came off the rails, with at least three of them catching fire. It was like an earthquake, Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told ERT. Derailed carriages, badly damaged with broken windows and thick plumes of smoke, could be seen on the site. Its very difficult what we are going through today as a country, he told reporters. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained as of Wednesday morning. "Based on these facts, and the findings from the scene of the tragedy, the number is expected to be greater" than the current toll of 36. 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. "They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didn't know the other was coming," he said. "It was a nightmarish 10 seconds, in the flames. After sunrise, rescuers turned to heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of the trains. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained. Tempe, Greece: A passenger train carrying hundreds of people collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece early on Wednesday, killing 32 people and injuring at least 85, officials said. Karamanlis said the Greek railway system was not up to 21st-century standards when he took office. Others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled and slammedinto a field next to the tracks, some being burnt in the process. The government announced three days of national mourning. The fire that raged in the train crash reached temperatures of 1300 degrees Celsius (2372 degrees Fahrenheit), the fire department said in a news release, and the heat from the fire caused delays in rescue and removal operations. I consider it a necessary element of our democracy that the citizens of our country trust the political system. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Tempe, in northern Greece, early on March 1, 2023. (AP) The incident took place in Tempe, near the north of Athens. Ive never seen anything like this in my entire life. He said that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape. At least 32 people have died after a passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Greek army has been called in to assist in the rescue effort. The region's governor said the collision was so violent that the first two carriages of the passenger train "no longer exist". Our carriage didnt derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed, he said, visibly shaken. Police in the nearby city of Larissa said they had arrested a 59-year-old station master, who has been charged with causing mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence. By midafternoon, Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis had resigned. Harry and Meghan reportedly losing their U.K. royal residence. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Fire Service Officials said 32 people were killed and at least 85 were injured. 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. "Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed," he said. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train's rear cars as he arrived. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. Please enter valid email address to continue. "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.". I'm still shaking," a22-year-old passenger named Angelos told AFP. There's debris flung all around the crash site.". Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. "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. "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. 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. At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured after a head-on collision between a passenger and cargo train in Greece. One survivor said there was panic among passengers, and fires that burned 'right and left. "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," said fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis. 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. "This is a terrible night," Mr Agorastos had earlier told state-run television. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece. Smoke rose from trains as firefighters and rescuers tried to help out the victims after the accident. I also wish for a speedy recovery for all the injured.. Search and rescue efforts continue through thick smoke, per AP. Officials said many of the passengers on the Athens to Thessaloniki train were university students returning home after celebrating Carnival over the long weekend. 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. The cause of the collision is not yet known and is being investigated. At least 32 people have been killed and 85 others injured in a train collision in central Greece. Local media said the train left Athens around 7.30 pm local time on Tuesday. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. Visiting the accident scene, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said the government must help the injured recover and identify the dead. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. "They were looking around, searching; they didn't know where they were.". 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. Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, - Web19th century 1830s. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Authorities arrested the stationmaster at the trains last stop, in the city of Larissa. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows due to the impact. "People, naturally, were scared - very scared," he said. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision near Tempe, a small town next to a valley where major highway and rail tunnels are located, some 380 kilometres north of Athens. A man who was trying to ascertain the fate of his daughter, who was on the train, saying he had a harrowing phone conversation with her before she was cut off. We are pulling out people alive, injuredthere are dead," he said. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. A train carrying hundreds of passengers collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. ", "It was a nightmare. Larissa's chief coroner, Roubini Leondari, said so far 43 bodies had been brought to her for examination, and would require DNA identification as they were largely disfigured. Footage showed rescuers wearing head lamps surrounded by thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the carriages to search for trapped people. The whole of Europe is mourning with you, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet Wednesday. She told me were on fire. 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. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece Tuesday night, killing at least 36 people and injuring some 85, officials said Wednesday. The crash killed at least 26 people and injured at least 85 people. I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greeces Skai Television the two trains collided head on at high speed. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant area near the front of the passenger train. Train collision in Greece kills at least 36; station master arrested. The front section of the train was smashed. 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. 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