Una tragedy it crashed on Greece late yesterday evening, just before midnight. two trains, a passenger it's one please, collided along the line Athens-Thessaloniki, near Tempe, about 380 kilometers north of Athens. The toll of the accident is at least 38 dead and 85 wounded, including 25 in serious condition. Rescue operations are still ongoing, while local authorities try to shed light on the cause of the accident.
Dramatic the death toll this morning in the clash that took place in #Greece between a freight train and a passenger train full of students? the media report that there are about 40 dead and 85 wounded, many of them in serious condition. ?
— MaurizioDomenico loi (@loidomemau) March 1, 2023
A thought for their families? pic.twitter.com/OfYXB6JlIg
University students among the victims
On board the passenger train, which traveled from Athens to Thessaloniki with 350 people on board, there were many University students returning home after the celebrations of Carnival weekend in Greece.
the premium four carriages of the passenger train derailed in the accident and the first two were "almost completely destroyed" by the flames. On board the trains there were also employees of the Greek railways, including the two drivers of each train.
Condolences to the families of the victims and injured in the tragic train crash #Greece
— KumanWorld (@World24New) March 1, 2023
?? pic.twitter.com/9jWNAYReyo
Possible human error
According to the first reconstructions, a human error could be at the origin of the accident. Government spokesman Yannis Economou said it has already started survey on the causes of the accident to understand how the two trains could travel many kilometers on the same line and then collide.
"It is a terrible tragedy and difficult to understand," said Greek Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga.
Terrible images of the train accident in #Greece. 32 dead and 85 wounded. (Reuters photo) pic.twitter.com/2eBGTlufRv
— Jeanne Perego (@jeperego) March 1, 2023
Three day national mourning period
The Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis, currently en route to the crash site, proclaimed a d periodthree-day national mourning. The Greek railway operator Hellenic Train, managed by the FS Italiane group, expressed its "deep condolences for the tragic accident" and offered "the utmost support to the families of the victims, the injured and all passengers".
Messages of solidarity
Also the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed her closeness to the Greek people on the tragedy that occurred: “My thoughts are with the Greek people after the terrible train accident that caused so many victims yesterday evening near Larissa. All of Europe mourns with you. I also wish a speedy recovery to all the injured." The first statements from passengers, including a girl who said she experienced something shocking and a man still in shock, testify to the seriousness of the situation.
