Now it's set for an overhaul. It will take a long time, said Sarianidis. Greece's firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. Another two people were detained for questioning. 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. First and foremost, our thoughts today are with the relatives of the victims. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. Kasulis Cho reported from Seoul, Francis from London and Parker from Washington. Opinion: We are in a new cold war. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday, killing multiple people and injuring scores of others. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a freight train outside Larissa just before midnight. Police said several carriages came off the rails, with at least three of them catching fire. More than 15 others were discharged after receiving initial treatment. Fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Varthakogiannis said the evacuation of passengers took place in very "difficult conditions given the severity of the collision of the two trains". When something so tragic happens, it is not possible to carry on as if nothing happened. Smoke rose from trains as firefighters and rescuers tried to help out the victims after the accident. / CBS/AP. The good news about egg prices. Greek authorities said they had started identifying victims but did not yet know the exact toll, with at least 194 surviving passengers transferred to Thessaloniki by bus. Greece's federal transport minister said he had submitted his resignation in the wake of the tragedy, calling it "the least he could do to honor the memory of the victims" as he spoke on live television. "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. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train's rear cars as he arrived. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. "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.". The government declared three days of national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast in a tribute to the victims of the crash. Nearly 30 people were killed and 85 people were injured after a freight and passenger train collided with each other in Greece. Many of the passengers were young, said Apostolos Komnos, the head of the intensive care unit at the General Hospital of Larissa. TEMPE, Greece -- Rescuers searched for survivors Wednesday in the mangled, burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country's worst-ever rail crash. "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 fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis. It was like an earthquake, Angelos Tsiamouras, another passenger, told ERT. 1833 Hightstown rail accident, Hightstown, New Jersey; 2 killed plus 15 injured.Earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers. Rail operator Hellenic Train expressed "its deep sorrow for the tragic accident" and said the passenger train had about 350 people on board. A passenger train and a cargo train have collided head-on in Greece, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks. (AP) The incident took place in Tempe, near the north of Athens. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train causing a fiery crash on Wednesday in northern Greece. Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision, which took place just before midnight near the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece's Skai Television the two trains collided head on at high speed. Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. I'm still shaking," a22-year-old passenger named Angelos told AFP. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. "It was a nightmarish 10 seconds, in the flames. Rescuers turned to heavy machinery to start moving large pieces of wreckage, revealing more bodies and dismembered remains. There was a fire in the first cars and complete panic. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Man survives month lost in Amazon by eating insects, drinking urine. "The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.". Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured after a head-on collision between a passenger and cargo train in Greece. 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. "Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it," she told a jointnews conference in Chisinau with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Five hours later, we are finding bodies.". They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didnt know the other was coming, he added. Greek transport minister resigns after deadly crash between passenger train and freight train | CBC News Loaded. We are pulling out people alive, injured there are dead.". Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained as of Wednesday morning. The crash killed at least 36 people and injured at least 85 people. Rescuer Lazaros Sarianidis told ERT that crews were very carefully trying to disentangle steel, sheet metal and other material that was twisted together by the crash. The fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left.". The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Thessaloniki has a large student population. There's debris flung all around the crash site.". TikTok announced it was banning dangerous tanning content so why didn't it. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the collision of the passenger train and a freight train a horrific rail accident without precedent in our country, and pledged a full, independent investigation. The festivities had been canceled the previous three years because of the coronavirus pandemic. Wed Mar 1 2023 - 06:16. Visiting the accident scene, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said the government must help the injured recover and identify the dead. 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. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou cut short a visit to Moldova and traveled to the crash site, where she laid white flowers among the wreckage, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. The pontiff sends the assurance of his prayers to everyone affected by this tragedy, the message said. We are living through a tragedy. "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. "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed," he said, visibly shaken. Footage showed rescuers wearing head lamps surrounded by thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the carriages to search for trapped people. A teenage survivor who did not give his name to reporters said that just before the crash he felt a strong braking and saw sparks then there was a sudden stop. She told me were on fire. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in central Greece late on Tuesday night, killing 36 peopleand injuring at least 85. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life," AFP quoted one rescue worker as saying as he emerged from the wreckage. He used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape. Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, Marie has been charged with reprehensible crimes. "They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didn't know the other was coming," he said. "We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides then there was panic, cables [everywhere], fire. He said he was taking responsibility for "long-standing failures" in the country's transport network. 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. Smoke rose from trains as firefighters and rescuers tried to help out the victims after the accident. March 1, 2023 11.14am. TEMPE, Greece (AP) A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train flattened carriages, killed at least 36 people and injured some 85, Greek officials said Wednesday. A passenger who escaped from the fifth carriage told the television network: "Windows were being smashed and people were screaming". We are living through a tragedy. The cargo train it collided with wastravelling from Thessaloniki to the city ofLarissa. Unfortunately, our efforts have not been sufficient to prevent such a bad incident. Broadcaster SKAI showed footage of derailed carriages, thick plumes of smoke, badly damaged broken windows, and debris strewn across the road. "Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed," he said. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a freight train outside Larissa just before midnight. The collision between a freight train and an oncoming passenger train occurred near Tempe early on Wednesday. A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a freight train outside Larissa just before midnight. Some were scouring the surrounding fields for survivors. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing. A passenger train and a freight train collided in northern Greece, killing at least 32 people and injuring 85 others as plumes of smoke filled the night sky. AFP cited Greek emergency services as saying roughly 150 firefighters and 40 ambulances had responded. A teenage survivor who didn't give his name to reporters said that just before the crash, he felt a strong braking and saw sparks, then there was a sudden stop. Ive never seen anything like this in my entire life. "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. We are pulling out people alive, injured there are dead. He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the trains rear cars as he arrived. At least 32 people have died after a passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday. Gatopoulos reported from Athens. The whole of Europe is mourning with you, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet Wednesday. "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. The passenger train was traveling from the capital, Athens, to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, when it and the cargo train collided. More than 200 people who were unharmed or suffered minor injuries were taken by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed," he said, visibly shaken. Emergency services from nearby towns were deployed to help with rescue efforts. After sunrise, they turned to heavy machinery that had been brought in to start moving large pieces of the trains. According to the Italian company's website, it is the main provider of rail transport for passengers and freight in Greece and runs 342 passenger and commercial routes a day. Eight rail employees were among those killed in the crash, including the two operators of the freight train and the two operators of the passenger train, according to Greek Railroad Workers Union President Yannis Nitsas. A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early Wednesday morning. A derailed passenger train is seen following a collision with a cargo train in the Tempe valley near Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant car near the front of the passenger train. Smokes were seen from where the accident took place. The possible cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Pope Francis sent his condolences and passed along blessings to those injured and to emergency workers, according to the Vaticans news agency. One passenger told state broadcaster ERT: "There was fire next to us. Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 of those hurt had serious injuries. Greeces firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care. At least 32 people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured after two trains collided in Greece. Officials said the army had been contacted to assist. I wasnt hurt but I was stained with blood from other people who were hurt near me, he said. Rail operator Hellenic Train reported about 350 people had been on the passenger train, which left Athens at 7.22pm (19:22 GMT). "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. We share the pain of those who lost loved ones, but we know their pain is so great that comforting words can offer no relief.. Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned in the wake of the crash, saying he felt it was his "duty" to step down "as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly.". For the most part, we are mourning young people. A passenger train collided with a freight train in Greece just before midnight on Feb. 28, killing 29 and injuring at least 85 people, authorities say. "This is an indescribable tragedy," said government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou. 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. A passenger named Lazos told the newspaper Proto Thema that the experience had been very shocking. Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki, Greeces second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board. On Wednesday, the government declared three days of national mourning. "The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.". At least 36 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a train collision in central Greece. Before dawn, rescuers searched through twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors. 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. More than 200 people who were unharmed in the crash or suffered minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "Fortunately we were in the penultimate car and we got out alive. Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece. At least 66 of those injured were still hospitalized, six of them in intensive care, as of 10 a.m. local time. At least 32 people have died after a passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday. "It's tragic. 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. Many of those aboard the passenger train were students returning from Greece's raucous Carnival, officials said. Survivors said some passengers were thrown from the train car windows on impact. 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