Larissa, Greece, March 1 (AFP\/APP):Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday said a “tragic human error” was likely responsible for a train collision that has left at least 38 dead in the country’s worst rail tragedy.<\/p>\n
Two carriages were crushed and a third engulfed in fire when a passenger train and a freight train late Tuesday collided near the central city of Larissa, on a route plagued by years of safety warnings.<\/p>\n
The fire department had earlier increased the death toll to 38, adding that 57 people were still hospitalised, six of them in intensive care, while several were missing.<\/p>\n
“Everything shows that the drama was, sadly, mainly due to a tragic human error,” Mitsotakis — who is seeking re-election this year — said in a televised address.<\/p>\n
He said it was a “terrible train accident without precedent” in Greece which would be “fully” investigated.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life,” said one rescue worker, emerging from the wreckage. “It’s tragic. Five hours later, we are finding bodies.”<\/p>\n
The accident left a tangled mess of metal and shattered glass in a field.<\/p>\n
In some cases, passengers are being identified from body parts, volunteer fireman Vassilis Iliopoulos told Skai TV, warning that the death toll would raise.<\/p>\n
Seventeen biological samples have been collected from remains, and from 23 relatives seeking a match, the police said.<\/p>\n
“It was the train of terror,” Pavlos Aslanidis, whose son is missing along with a friend, told reporters.<\/p>\n
Greece’s transport minister submitted his resignation just hours after the accident.<\/p>\n
“When something so tragic happens, we cannot continue as if nothing had happened,” Kostas Karamanlis said in a public statement.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday evening, police in the capital Athens fired tear gas at protesters throwing rocks at the offices of the railway’s operating company, Hellenic Train.<\/p>\n
– Years of safety concerns –<\/p>\n
The passenger train, carrying more than 350 people, had been travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n
The 59-year-old station master of Larissa was arrested several hours after the accident and charged with negligent homicide.<\/p>\n
Government spokesman Yiannis Economou said the two trains were left running on the same track for “several kilometres”.<\/p>\n
But train unionists said the station master was likely a scapegoat as the safety shortcomings of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line had been known for years.<\/p>\n
In an open letter in February, train staff said track safety systems were incomplete and poorly maintained.<\/p>\n
A safety supervisor had resigned last year, warning that infrastructure upgrades pending since 2016 were incomplete and that train speeds of up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) an hour were unsafe.<\/p>\n
The president of the train drivers’ union Kostas Genidounias told AFP from the scene that the accident “would have been avoided if the safety systems were working”.<\/p>\n
– ‘Complete panic’ –<\/p>\n
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said most passengers were “young people”, with the train carrying many students returning to Thessaloniki after a long holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
“It was a nightmare… I’m still shaking,” 22-year-old passenger Angelos told AFP.<\/p>\n
“Fortunately we were in the penultimate car and we got out alive. There was a fire in the first cars and complete panic.<\/p>\n
“The collision was like a huge earthquake.”<\/p>\n
“I was stained with blood from other people who were injured near me,” a passenger named Lazos told the newspaper Proto Thema.<\/p>\n
Some 150 firefighters and 40 ambulances were mobilised for the response, according to Greek emergency services.<\/p>\n
Crews were still struggling to lift one of the smashed carriages, lying on its side, to enable a search inside, Iliopoulos said.<\/p>\n
“My thoughts are with the people in Greece this morning,” tweeted the head of the European Council, Charles Michel.<\/p>\n
“Shocked by the news and images of the collision of the two trains,” he added.<\/p>\n
Neighbouring Albania, Italy, Serbia and Turkey were among states to send condolences, as did China, the United States, France, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and the Vatican.<\/p>\n
Nicosia said two Cypriots were among the missing.<\/p>\n
– ‘Windows exploded’ –<\/p>\n
On the local media site Onlarissa, a young woman said that the train “was stopped for a few minutes when we heard a deafening noise”.<\/p>\n
Another passenger told Skai TV that “the windows suddenly exploded. People were screaming.”<\/p>\n
“Fortunately, we were able to open the doors and escape fairly quickly. In other wagons, they did not manage to get out, and one wagon even caught fire,” he added.<\/p>\n
Authorities have declared three days of national mourning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Larissa, Greece, March 1 (AFP\/APP):Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday said a “tragic human error” was likely responsible for a train collision that has left at least 38 dead in the country’s worst rail tragedy. Two carriages were crushed and a third engulfed in […]<\/p>\n
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