A passenger train and a freight train collide between Athens and Thessaloniki. In the meantime, the rescue workers have recovered 16 dead from the wrecks. 350 travelers and 20 railway workers are said to have been on board the trains.
At least 16 people died when a freight train collided with a passenger train on Wednesday night in central Greece. This was said by a spokesman for the fire brigade on the state broadcaster ERT. 85 people were injured. "The search continues," said the fire department spokesman. Numerous hospitals have been put on alert. It was said that 350 travelers and 20 railway workers were on board the trains.
Greek television showed videos from the scene of the accident near Tempi in central Greece. Carriages of both trains were smashed. Firefighters and rescue workers try to find survivors in the rubble. "Most of the injured have head injuries, broken pelvises, arms and legs. Unfortunately, there are numerous people who are still in the rubble," a member of a rescue team told reporters at the scene. A survivor said fire broke out on the passenger train after the collision. "There was chaos and a hell of a noise," he added on state television.
The route, which connects Athens with the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki, has been modernized in recent years. The Greek railways (Hellenic Train) are operated by the Italian state railway Ferroviaria dello Stato Italiano (FS). Railway workers said on the Greek broadcaster Real FM that, despite the modernization, there were significant problems with the electrical coordination of traffic control.
