“A tragic human being errorIt was likely responsible for Train collision that left 38 at least dead in Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that the worst train tragedy in the country.
Two wagons and a third wagon were destroyed in fire When a passenger train and a freight train collided late Tuesday near the city centre city of larissa, on A road that plagued me for years of safety Warnings. the fire to divide added This is 57 people were still in the hospital, six of they in Intensive care, while many are missing. “Everything shows That the drama was, unfortunately, mainly because of of A tragic human error, said Mitsotakis in televised address. He described it as a “horrific, unprecedented train accident”. in Greece to be investigated “fully”.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my life ” one Rescue worker emerging from the wreckage. “It’s tragic. Five hours Later, we find dead bodies.”
the incident left tangled mess of Shattered metal and glass in area.
In some cases, passengers are identified from body parts, volunteer firefighter Vassilis Iliopoulos told Sky TV, warning that death will toll rise. Seventeen biological samples were collected from remainsand of 23 relatives who are seeking access matchsaid the police. Passenger train carries over three hundred fifty peoplehe was traveling from Athens to the north city of Thessaloniki.
“It was the train of terrorPavlos Aslanidis, who son missing along with friend of journalists.
Greek transport minister he quit just hours after the accident. “When something very tragic happens, we can’t go on as if nothing happened,” said Costas Karamanlis. in a public statement. On Wednesday evening, protests took place at the Thessaloniki railway station city of Larisa f outside Athens offices of Italian owned railways operating Hellenic Train Company.
In Athens, riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators throwing Rocks in the offices of Hellenic train. The company said it is working closely with The authorities have offeredfinancial supportfor passengers.
years of safety Fears
59-year old station master of Larisa was arrested several times hours After the accident is charged with negligent homicide. He will appear before the Public Prosecutor on Thursday.
Government spokeswoman Yiannis Economou said both trains were running on same path for “several kilometers.”
But the railway union members said safety shortcomings on The Athens-Thessaloniki railway was well known for years. in an open letter in February, the track train crew said safety The systems were incomplete and poorly maintained. a safety The supervisor resigned last yearand warning Infrastructure upgrades pending since 2016 were incomplete and train speeds were low of up Even 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour was unsafe.
Five years after Greek railway operator Trainose was sold to Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane and became Hellenic Train, safety The systems are still not fully automated. The state company OSE oversees Greece’s 2,200 km (1,370 mi) railway infrastructure.
Last month, the European Commission took Greece to court for failure to sign and publish an agreement with or required Under the directive of 2012. President of the train driversunionCostas Gnedonia told AFP that the accident “could have been avoided if safety The systems were working.”
“total panic”
The train carried mostly students returning to Thessaloniki after a long time holiday weekend.
“She was nightmare… I’m still shivering,” the 22-year-old passenger, Angelos, told AFP (AFP).
“Fortunately we were in Before last car And we got out Alive. he was there fire in the first car And complete panic.
“I was stained with blood than others people who “They were hit very close to me,” Lazus, another passenger, told Proto Thema.
About 150 firefighters and 40 ambulances were mobilized for response, according to Greek emergency services.
Neighboring Albania, Italy, Serbia and Turkey were among the countries to offer condolences, as did China, the United States, France, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and the Vatican. Nicosia said two Cypriots were among the missing.
Windows exploded
at the local level media Onosissa website, a young One woman said the train “has stopped for A few minutes later we heard a deafening sound noise”.
Another passenger told Sky TV, “L windows It suddenly exploded. People were screaming.”
Fortunately, we were able to open the doors and escape reasonable speed. In other gigs, they just couldn’t get it outAnd one I caught a cart fire,” he added.
The authorities announced three days of national Smith.
