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Trains collide head-on in Greece, 29 dead, 89 injured

Rescue operations were underway till late in the night

AP03_01_2023_000006A Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece | AP

Two trains collided head on in central Greece on Tuesday evening, killing 29 people and injuring over 85. Rescue operations were underway late into the night as workers searched for survivors.

The incident happened on Tuesday evening, shortly before midnight, in Tempi, central Greece. Reports quoting the Greek Fire Service said the incident occurred when a passenger train   travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, carrying more than 350 people, collided with a freight train.

Images doing rounds on Greece’s state-owned public broadcaster ERT showed plumes of thick smoke coming from the mangled remains of the carriages. 

Though it is unclear what caused the collision, its impact resulted in fire in a number of the passenger carriages. "We heard a big bang, (it was) 10 nightmarish seconds," Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage, told Reuters.

"We were turning over in the wagon until we fell on our sides...then there was panic, cables (everywhere) fire, the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left," he added. 

Another passenger told reporters that before the crash, he felt a strong braking and saw sparks and then there was a sudden stop. "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed," he said, visibly shaken. 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.

Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos told SKAI TV that the first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed in the crash, while the first two carriages, which caught fire, were "almost completely destroyed". 

Over 250 passengers were evacuated safely as rescue workers continued search for survivors late into night. "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," Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis told AP. 

The authorities have also alerted hospital units near the accident site to treat burn victims in the area. Dozens of ambulances have also been employed in the rescue effort.

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