The impact was so violent that nothing was left of the first two carriages. It is the “worst train disaster the country has ever known”. Transport minister resigns. Prime Minister Mitsotakis: “Tragic human error”
Photogallery – Railway tragedy in Greece: massacre of passengers in the collision between two trains
A train accident in Greece it resulted in the death of at least 40 people and the injury of another 130, of whom six were hospitalized in intensive care. Between 50 and 60 people are missing. A freight train and a passenger train were involved in the clash between Athens and Thessaloniki. The stationmaster of Larissa he has been arrested. According to the Greek media, it is about the “worst train accident Greece has ever known”. About 150 firefighters and 40 ambulances were mobilised. The premier Mitsotakis: “Tragic human error”
Three days of national mourning The fire brigade explained that three carriages derailed after the collision: one of the carriages of the passenger train caught fire and several people were trapped. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has declared three days of national mourning.
The latest news on today’s train crash The accident between the freight train and the passenger convoy occurred near the town of Larissa, in the center of the country, but still
the dynamics have not been defined of the collision between the freight train and the passenger train:
it is unclear whether or not this was human error. Regional governor Kostas Agorastos said “more than 250 passengers were transferred by bus in Thessaloniki. Cars 1 and 2 no longer exist, while carriage 3 derailed and overturned.”
The first two carriages pulverized The two trains were traveling at great speed because they didn’t know the other was coming and the impact was so violent that nothing was left of the first two carriages after the accident. “The mayor of the city near the accident said that there is nothing left of the first two carriages,” the reporter says.
On the passenger convoy many university students There were many on the passenger train that collided with the cargo train
University students who came home after if
outbursts for the long Carnival weekend. “It is a terrible tragedy and difficult to understand, I am very sorry for the parents,” said Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga. According to Hellenic Train, railway operator
managed by the Italian State Railways Groupabout 350 passengers were traveling on board.
A railway tragedy Cranes and mechanical means were also used to try to clear the debris and lift the overturned wagons. According to the rescuers who intervened on the scene, it is an unprecedented railway tragedy for the country: ”
I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life. It’s tragic. Five hours later, we still find bodies,” a rescuer said. According to some survivors, the force of the impact was such that several passengers were thrown out the windows of the carriages. Many people were trapped in the wreckage, while others were manage to save yourself by fleeing into the fields surrounding the railway embankment.
Transport minister resigns After the train disaster, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Karamanlis resigned. “I have been in politics for a few years, but I consider it a necessary element of our democracy that the citizens of our country have faith in the political system. This is called political responsibility. For this – he explained – I resign from the position of Minister of Infrastructure and Transport. It is what I feel the duty to do as a minimum sign of respect for the memory of the victims”.
The worst train accident in the world On December 26, 2004, one of the worst train accidents in history occurred in Peraliya, a town in the Galle district of Sri Lanka. The Ruhunu Kumari express train, i.e. “the Queen of the Sea”, went off the tracks causing the deaths of more than 1,700 people even though only about 900 bodies were recovered: many others were swept away from the sea or directly recovered by families. rushed to the scene of the massacre.