Government officials said the army has been asked to help with the rescue. My hair is burning, he told ERT, without giving his name. Patrick Quinn and David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok. March 1, 2023 11.14am. A police statement identified the person arrestedonly as a 59-year-old man. The impact just before midnight Tuesday threw some passengers into ceilings and out the windows. What appeared to be the third carriage lay atop the clumped remains of the first two. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day. "They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didn't know the other was coming," he 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. Rail operator Hellenic Train saidabout 350 people were travelling on the passenger train, which left Athens at about7:30pm local time for the northern city of Thessaloniki. How much could a short, brisk daily walk lower your health risks? We are living through a tragedy. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. Officials said this included university students returning home after a long holiday weekend marking the beginning of Greek Orthodox lent. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train's rear cars as he arrived. 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. Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didnt know the other was coming, he added. Five hours later, we are finding bodies.". Another passenger car appeared to be mangled as a crane slowly began lifting it. The cause of the collision is unknown pending further investigation, but Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the Greek government would do everything it can to find out what caused the crash. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropolou said she would cut short a visit to Moldovato return to Greece following the collision. "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. At least two train cars appeared to be tipped sideways near the track, while one was severely dented, with gaping windows, as firefighters worked to extricate passengers. 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. Dozens hurt in fiery train crash, derailment in Greece. Passenger train from Athens collides head-on with freight train in Greece, killing 36 people. - 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. Thessaloniki has a large student population. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring scores of others. 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. Opinion: We are in a new cold war. The passenger train was traveling from the capital, Athens, to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, when it and the cargo train collided. At least 32 people have been killed and 85 others injured in a train collision in central Greece. TEMPE, Greece A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing 16 people and injuring at least 85, Fire Service officials said. Updated on: March 1, 2023 / 9:20 AM A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring some 85, Fire Service officials said. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights in the hours before dawn on Wednesday as they searched through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. Tuesday, February 28, 2023, NEW: Its not polite to pretend boys can be girls, SCOTUS takes on Bidens student debt agenda. There were many big pieces of steel, he said. Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned, saying he was stepping down as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly., Karamanlis said he had made every effort to improve a railway system that had been in a state that doesn't befit the 21st century., But, he added, When something this tragic happens it's impossible to continue as if nothing has happened.. What appeared to be the third carriage lay atop the clumped remains of the first two. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near a gorge about 235 miles north of Athens. Web19th century 1830s. We will help them as much as we can, he said. Rescue workers with high-powered torches were searching through the wreckage for trapped passengers. Many were evacuated to Thessaloniki, where one woman ran to embrace her daughter as she disembarked from a bus with other survivors. I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.. "It was like an earthquake," Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told state broadcaster ERT. 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. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a freight train outside Larissa just before midnight. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. This story will be updated as more information develops. The stationmaster was arrested in Larissa in connection to the crash and two others were brought in for questions, The Associated Press reported. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train's rear carriages as he arrived. This is a terrifying process for parents and relatives who are here. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Sources: Hellenic Fire Service, Geodata.gov.gr. Eight rail employees were among those killed in the crash, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train, according to Greek Railroad Workers Union President Yannis Nitsas. The fire brigade said it was informed of the accident shortly before midnight. The cause of the deadliest rail crash in Greece in decades remained unclear. Rail operator Hellenic Train expressed "its deep sorrow for the tragic accident" and said the passenger train had about 350 people on board. Its tragic. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/passenger-train-freight-train-collide-central-greece/102038088. I consider it a necessary element of our democracy that the citizens of our country trust the political system. Associated Press reported reported that 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis said at a briefing Wednesday that the death toll was likely to rise as identifying remains from the first car of the passenger train in particular would be difficult due to the extreme heat of the fire that erupted. 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. 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Search and rescue efforts continue through thick smoke, per AP. We are facing an unimaginable tragedy, Sakellaropoulou said in a statement posted to her offices website. At least 32 people have been killed and 85 others injured in a train collision in central Greece. Man survives month lost in Amazon by eating insects, drinking urine. Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, - This is called political responsibility.. 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. Some of the passenger carriages exploded in flames from the impact. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. A drone video shows plumes of smoke rising from derailed cars after two trains collided near the city of Larissa in northern Greece on March 1. Karamanlis said the Greek railway system was not up to 21st-century standards when he took office. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. This is an indescribable tragedy, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said, adding that 500 workers from emergency services were at the scene of the crash. Associated Press reported reported that 350 passengers were on board the passenger train that was heading northbound from Athens to We found a hole and from there we managed to get out. "It's hard to describe the scene. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train causing a fiery crash on Wednesday in northern Greece. The cause remains unknown. A passenger who escaped from the fifth carriage told the television network: "Windows were being smashed and people were screaming". Hospital units used to treat burn victims in the area were alerted and dozens of ambulances dispatched to the scene. 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. The U.S. Embassy in Athens said it was not aware of any American victims, adding that it was deeply saddened by the news of the tragic train collision this morning. Condolences poured in from world leaders, and European Union flags in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels were lowered to half-staff. After sunrise, one of the remaining passenger carriages could be seen resting on its side at an almost 90-degree angle from the rest of the train. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in Larissa, and at least 150 firefighters and dozens of emergency vehicles were dispatched to the crash site. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring scores of others. ", "The front section of the train was smashed. "Fortunately we were in the penultimate car and we got out alive. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis office announced a three-day national mourning period. 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. "It's tragic. "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.". Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. The festivities had been canceled the previous three years because of the coronavirus pandemic. "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," spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. Gogakos said the crash felt like an explosion, and some smoke entered the carriage. The crash, which also injured 85 people, occurred shortly before midnight in the Tempe Valley in central Greece, the Hellenic Fire Service said. Many of the passengers were students returning to Thessaloniki from Carnival, but officials said but no detailed passenger list was available. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Our country is experiencing an unspeakable tragedy, and we are all facing the huge question of why, he told journalists there, according to Kathimerini. Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed, he said. 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. The stationmaster in the city of Larissa was arrested, Greek police said Wednesday. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains crashed head on at high speed. Local media said the train left Athens around 7.30 pm local time on Tuesday. Web19th century 1830s. For 10, 15 seconds it was chaos, Stergios Minenis, 28, told the BBC. The government declared three days of national mourning from Wednesday, while flags flew at half-staff outside all European Commission buildings in Brussels. 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're getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. 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. Nearly 30 people were killed and 85 people were injured after a freight and passenger train collided with each other in Greece. They did not release the mans name or the reason for the arrest, but the stationmaster is responsible for rail traffic on that stretch of the tracks. 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, Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greeces firefighting service, told the AP. Later in the year, a second accident resulted in ten injuries, with two of them ultimately dying. A train carrying 350 passengers was traveling north from Athens to Thessaloniki when it ran headlong into a freight train traveling from Thessaloniki near the city of Larissa, CNN reported. "People, naturally, were scared very scared," he said. "Temperatures were particularly high, reaching even 1,300 degrees Celsius (about 2,700 Fahrenheit)," Varthakogiannis told journalists. Rescue effort under way after passenger train carrying 350 people collided with a cargo train near central city of Larissa. "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 Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesperson for Greece's firefighting service. Greek police said the manager of the train station in the central city of Larissa was arrested Wednesday in connection with the head-on collision. What appeared to be the passenger train's third carriage lay atop the crumpled remains of the first two, where emergency crews were directing their focus. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. One passenger told state broadcaster ERT: "There was fire next to us. Train crash, derailment in Greece injures at least 60 in fires, ruins. On Wednesday, the government declared three days of national mourning. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 of those hurt had serious injuries. 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