Rescue efforts in the search for survivors after a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in Athens to Thessaloniki

Rescue workers are in a desperate search for survivors after a head-on collision between two trains in central Greece killed dozens of people and injured scores.

The Greek railway company, Hellenic Train, said in a press release that there was “a head-on collision between two trains: a freight train and train IC 62 which had departed from Athens to Thessaloniki.”

One male passenger told Greek public broadcasters that the train car started spinning and ended up sideways after a bang.

Recovery efforts are underway, with the focus on the first two carriages of the passenger train, the Greek Fire Service said. The death toll is expected to rise.

The passenger train had been traveling from the capital Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, which is renowned for its festivals and vibrant cultural life. At the weekend a nationwide carnival ended with a public holiday.

There are long lines of rescue vehicles and carriages next to a thick trail of smoke in pictures on Greece’s state-owned public broadcasters.

There were 205 people who were taken to the city of Thessaloniki and 20 passengers who were transferred to the city of Larissa by bus. 53 people were still in hospital, he said.

Flames roost in the Hellenic Train: Two high-speed rail cars collide and die in a field near the Vale of Tempe

Hellenic Train, which has added high-speed services in recent years, is operated by Italy’s FS Group, which runs rail services in several European countries.

Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision near the town of Tempe on Tuesday just before midnight. Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors.

Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. They said that others fought for themselves after the passenger train crashed into a field next to the tracks, which are located in a gorge north of Athens.

The main body of the train was destroyed. The cranes are going to clear the debris, and the lifting equipment is going to lift the rail cars. There’s debris flung all around the crash site.”

The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece’s Skai television the two trains crashed head on at high speed.

Rescuers in thick smoke pulled pieces of mangled metal from cars to search for trapped people. Others checked the field with torches. The front of the passenger train is believed to be where some of the dead were found.

Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greece’s firefighters, said the process of expelling people was ongoing because of the severity of the collision between the trains.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1160282712/fiery-greece-train-collision-kills-more-than-2-dozen-injures-more-than-80

A teenage driver’s reaction to the sound of a collision: An enigmatic teenager who saw sparks but not a brake

A teenager who was not giving his name told reporters that he felt a brake on and saw sparks before the crash, but there was a sudden stop.