A train collision in the municipality of Elassona, Northern Greece has reportedly resulted in the death of at least 32 people while many more have been injured.
Two trains travelling on the line that connects the cities of Larisa and Thessaloniki collided, with one of the the trains bursting into flames according to eyewitnesses at the scene, near the entrance to the Tempe tunnel close to the village of Evangelismos.
“The collision was very strong,” Konstantinos Agorastos, governor of the broader Thessaly region, told SKAI TV.
He added that the first four carriages had derailed, while the first two were “almost completely destroyed” from the fire.
Emergency rescue teams are currently on site -some 380km north of Athens- to free passengers who are thought to be still trapped in the wreckage which includes several derailed wagons and three train cars on fire.
More than thirty ambulances have been used to transport the injured to nearby hospitals.
The fire brigade could neither confirm the number of injured nor the cause of the accident. The fire had been put out, the brigade said.
Greek Broadcaster SKAI showed footage of derailed carriages, badly damaged with broken windows and thick plumes of smoke billowing in the air, as well as debris strewn across the road.
Rescue workers were seen carrying torch lights in carriages looking for trapped passengers.
“There was panic in the carriage, people were screaming,” a young man who was evacuated under a nearby bridge told SKAI.
“At least 26 people have been found dead so far,” a fire services spokesman said at a press conference earlier this morning (the number of the dead had not increased at the time), adding that rescue operations were still ongoing.
About 250 passengers were evacuated safely to Thessaloniki on buses. One passenger told state broadcaster ERT he managed to escape after breaking the train window with his suitcase.
With AAP and AFP
