train crash
Greece is in mourning following its worst-ever rail disaster, which has claimed the lives of at least 43 people. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that the tragedy was due to “tragic human error”. The local stationmaster has been charged with manslaughter and the transport minister has resigned in the wake of the accident.
Rescue teams are still searching for survivors of the head-on collision between a passenger service and a freight train, which occurred just before midnight on Tuesday. It is still unclear why the two services were running on the same track. The stationmaster denies wrongdoing and has blamed the accident on a possible technical failure.
Survivors have described the chaotic scenes after the crash, with one shaken passenger saying that people were panicking and screaming. Giannis Antonoglou, who escaped from the fifth compartment of the passenger train, said that the windows suddenly smashed and they ended up being tilted 45 degrees as if about to tip. Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage, said that the fire was immediate and as they were turning over they were being burned.
The first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed and the first two caught fire and were almost completely destroyed. Some passengers said they were forced to break carriage windows with their bodies or luggage to escape the burning wreckage.
Relatives of missing passengers have provided DNA samples to help identify bodies, a hospital in Larissa said. Trade unions have pointed to chronic deficiencies in Greece’s rail system, including lack of staff, broken signals and outdated facilities.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the site of the crash and said that justice will be done and people will be held accountable. He added that the state will be on the side of the people affected by this tragedy.
Greece is in mourning following its worst-ever rail disaster, which has taken the lives of at least 43 people. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said that the tragedy was due to “tragic human error”, leading to the local stationmaster being charged with manslaughter and the transport minister resigning in its wake.
Rescue teams are still searching for survivors of the head-on collision between a passenger service and a freight train, which occurred just before midnight on Tuesday. It is still unclear why the two services were running on the same track, although the stationmaster denies wrongdoing and has blamed it on a possible technical failure.
Survivors have described chaotic scenes after the crash, with one shaken passenger saying that people were panicking and screaming. Giannis Antonoglou, who escaped from the fifth compartment of the passenger train, said that the windows suddenly smashed and they ended up being tilted 45 degrees as if about to tip. Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage, said that the fire was immediate and as they were turning over they were being burned.
The first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed and the first two caught fire and were almost completely destroyed. Some passengers said they were forced to break carriage windows with their bodies or luggage to escape the burning wreckage. Relatives of missing passengers have provided DNA samples to help identify bodies, a hospital in Larissa said.
Trade unions have pointed to chronic deficiencies in Greece’s rail system, including lack of staff, broken signals and outdated facilities. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the site of the crash and said that justice will be done and people will be held accountable, while adding that the state will be on the side of those affected by this tragedy.
The Greek people are mourning this devastating loss of life and are hoping for a swift resolution to this tragedy so that those responsible can be brought to justice and those affected can receive closure.