CATASTROPHEGREECE
Greece train crash: Police arrest railroad station master
6 hours ago6 hours ago
Greek authorities have arrested a railroad station master after a passenger train collision that killed dozens. Local media described the incident as the country’s deadliest train accident.
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Greek police arrested a 59-year-old man over the collision of a passenger train that derailed near the central city of Larissa overnight killing at least 36 people.
The incident is already being described as the worst of its kind in Greece’s history, with the death toll expected to rise as rescuers work through the debris.
At least 66 people have been hospitalized, some of them with serious injuries.
A police official said that the prosecutor had charged the station master with mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence.
Train collision in Greece kills at least 36 people
02:52
Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis also submitted his resignation on Wednesday over the incident.
He said in a statement that stepping down was “the least he could do to honor the memory of the victims”, adding that he was taking responsibility for the state’s “long-standing failures.”
What caused the crash?
The passenger train headed from the capital, Athens, to the northern port of Thessaloniki collided head-on with a commercial freight train that had ended up on the same track just before midnight on Tuesday in the Thessaly region.
The first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed, with the first two catching fire.
The train departed from the Greek capital at 7:22 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening and crashed near the city of Larissa.
It is not yet known why the trains were traveling on the same stretch, but the passenger train had just emerged from a tunnel.
“They were traveling at great speed and one (driver) didn’t know the other was coming,” Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos said.
Two large cranes on the site were starting to clear parts of the wreckage as morning broke Wednesday. Rescuers worked to free any passengers stuck in the mangled remains, still discovering victims hours later.
Rescue crews operate at the site of a crash, where two trains collidedRescue crews operate at the site of a crash, where two trains collided
The two trains had ended up on the same line, headed in the opposite directionImage: Alexandros Avramidis/REUTERS
According to Hellenic Train data, the passenger train was carrying 342 travelers and 10 crew, while the cargo train had two crew on board.
Investigators said that the temperature fromt he fires in one carriage had reached 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,375 degrees Fahrenheit).
President cuts short foreign visit
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Wednesday said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece.
“Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it,” she told a joint news conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences on Twitter.
“The whole of Europe is mourning with you,” von der Leyen wrote. “My thoughts are with the people of Greece after the terrible train accident that claimed so many lives last night near Larissa.”
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola offered her sympathy to “all victims, their families and friends.”
“Grateful to all rescuers and medical staff on site,” she added.
The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he was “shocked by the news and images of the collision of the two trains.”
“My thoughts are with the people in Greece this morning,” he tweeted.
rc/nm (dpa, Reuters, AFP, AP)
