ATHENS (Reuters) – A passenger train and a freight train collided head-on in Greece last night, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens in what is the deadliest train crash in the country’s history.
A fire brigade official said the death toll was set to rise further. Sixty-six of the injured were hospitalized, six of them in intensive care.
The accident occurred as the passenger train was exiting a tunnel. The derailed carriages, badly damaged with broken windows and thick plumes of smoke, were visible at the scene.
“There was panic…the fire was immediate, as we turned around we were burned, the fire was left and right,” said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who escaped to safety.
The passenger train was carrying 342 travelers and 10 crew members, while two crew members were on the freight train, according to Hellenic Train figures.
The government has declared three days of national mourning, from today to Friday, with flags at half-mast in homage to the victims.
One of the questions the investigators need to answer is why the two trains were traveling on the same track when they crashed.
The station master, responsible for reporting, has been arrested, a police official said.
Greece’s outdated railway system needs to be modernised: many trains run on single tracks and automatic control and signaling systems have not yet been installed in many areas.
Greece sold rail operator Trainose to Ferrovie dello Stato in 2017 as part of its international bailout programme, planning to invest hundreds of millions of euros in rail infrastructure over the next few years.
Hellenic Train, the main Greek railway company, is now wholly owned by Trenitalia, according to the FS website. The company is active in both passenger and freight transport and the main line on which it carries out daily connections is the Athens – Thessaloniki line. The company operates about 340 passenger and freight trains a day.
(Translated by Francesca Piscioneri, editing Stefano Bernabei, Andrea Mandalà)