The exact cause of the crash remains unclear.Īs we reported earlier, Kostas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, said 'one driver didn't know the other was coming'. Rescue crews began frantically searching the site before dawn on Wednesday, wearing head lamps and pulling pieces of mangled metal from carriages to search for trapped people.Įarlier this morning, cranes and specialist lifting equipment arrived at the site. Out of the injured, 66 were hospitalised and six ended up in intensive care.Ī witness told Sky News both trains were 'completely destroyed' in the crash.
Many on board the passenger train were university students returning home after celebrating a national holiday over the long weekend.Īccording to the president of the Greek Railroad Workers Union, Yannis Nitsas, eight of those who died were rail employees, including the four drivers of the two trains.
The trains - one a passenger vehicle carrying 350 people and the other a freight train - were travelling at high speed. Multiple carriages derailed and three burst into flames, killing 36 people and leaving 85 injured. Just before midnight on Tuesday, two trains travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided head-on near the Vale of Tempe.
