the Greek stationmaster arrested in a train accident head-on; 36 dead

Greek officials said on Wednesday that a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train killed at least 36 people and injured about 85 others, with the death toll expected to rise.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, but the station manager in the nearby city of Larissa was arrested on Wednesday. The police did not release his name. Two other people have been detained for questioning.

Before dawn the next day, rescuers searched the smoking wreckage for survivors. What appeared to be the third chariot lay on top of the twisted remains of the first and second chariots.

It is unclear how fast the two trains were traveling when they crashed into each other just before midnight on Tuesday, but state broadcaster ERT quoted rescuers as saying the bodies of some victims were found 30-40 meters (100-130 feet) away from the site. bump. . Multiple cars derailed and at least three cars caught fire in a crash near the town of Tempe, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens.

Survivors said the collision threw several passengers through the windows of the train cars. Others, they said, fought to free themselves after the passenger train swerved, crashing into a field near a gorge.

Many of the 350 people on the passenger train were students returning from Greece’s raucous Carnivalofficials said. This year was the first time the three-day festival, which precedes Lent, has been fully celebrated since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visiting the scene, said the government should help the injured recover and identify the dead.

“I can guarantee one thing: we will find out the reasons for this tragedy and we will do everything we can so that nothing like this happens again,” said Mitsotakis.

On Wednesday, the government declared three days of national mourning, while flags were flown at half-staff outside all European Commission buildings in Brussels.

After sunrise, rescuers turned to cranes and other heavy machinery to begin moving large pieces of trains, uncovering more bodies and dismembered remains. Officials said the military has been contacted for assistance.

Rescuer Lazarus Saryanidis told state broadcaster ERT that rescue crews were trying “very carefully” to separate steel, sheet metal and other materials that were bent by the collapse. “It will take a long time,” said Sarianidis.

Kostas Agorastos, the regional governor of Thessaly region, told Greece’s Skai TV that the two trains collided at high speed.

“The first and second carriages were no longer there, and the third was derailed,” he said.

The trains crashed just before the Tempe Valley, a narrow gorge separating the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia.

“There were many large pieces of steel,” said Vassilis Polizos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. “The trains are completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.”

He said that dizzy and disoriented people were fleeing from the rear cars of the train as it arrived.

“People were, of course, afraid — very afraid,” he said. “They were looking around, searching; they didn’t know where they were.”

The head of the Hellenic Railway Workers’ Union, Yiannis Nitsas, said eight railway employees were among those killed in the accident, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train.

Greece’s fire service said 66 people had been taken to hospital, including six in intensive care.

“The evacuation process is continuing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the seriousness of the collision between the two trains,” said Vassilis Varthakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service.

More than 200 people who were unharmed in the crash or with minor injuries were taken by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. The police took their names when they arrived, in an effort to track down anyone who might be missing.

Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis, barely able to hold back tears, told reporters at the crash site that the authorities would investigate “in all seriousness and with full transparency” the causes of the accident.

“We will do everything we can to investigate the causes and leave nothing under the rug,” Karamanlis said.

An unnamed teenage survivor told reporters that he felt hard braking just before the crash and saw sparks – then suddenly stopped.

“Our carriage did not derail, but the one in front got off and crashed,” he said, apparently shaken.

He added that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his fourth car and escape.

Railway operator Hellenic Train said the passenger train heading north to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board.

Hellenic Train is operated by the Italian FS Group, which operates rail services in several European countries.

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Patrick Quinn and David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok. Jatopoulos reported from Athens.