Rescuers were removing the burnt wreckage of two trains that collide head-on in northern Greece. on Wednesday, leaving at least 36 people dead and several carriages twisted into twisted knots of steel.
Transport minister Kostas Karamanlis said he felt „obliged” to resign. As a mark of respect for the people who died so unjustly”.
The cause of the crash near Tempe Valley, about 380 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens. Was unclear, but police arrested the station chief in the neighbouring town of Larissa. He did not release his name. Two other people were being questione.
Greece: Transport minister resigns after train crash
It was unclear how fast the passenger train and freight train were travelling when they collide on Tuesday. minutes before midnight, but survivors said several passengers were thrown out of windows. Rescuers told state broadcaster ERT they found bodies 30-40 metres (100-130 feet) from the impact site.
PASSENGERS SAY THE CRASH WAS LIKE AN EXPLOSION A teenager who did not give his name told reporters. That seconds before the crash he felt a sharp deceleration and saw sparks. Then the train slammed on the brakes.
Our carriage didn’t derail, but the ones in front of us did and they were destroyed,” he said, shaking. With a handbag she broke the window of her carriage, the fourth one, and was able to escape.
Greece: Transport minister resigns after train crash
Stefanos Gogakos, who was in a carriage further back, said the crash was like an explosion and he saw flames ahead. „The glass in the windows shattered and fell on us,” he told ERT. „I hit my head on the roof. Some people jumped out of the windows because there was smoke in the carriage. The doors were closed, but soon after train staff opened them and we got out.” Several carriages derailed and at least one burst into flames. Temperatures reached 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 Fahrenheit), making it even more difficult to identify the people inside,” said fire spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis.
DESTRUCTION HURDLES RESCUE On Wednesday, rescuers used cranes and heavy machinery to remove large chunks of carriages, and then more bodies and dismembered remains appeared. „There were a lot of big pieces of steel,” said Vassilis Polyzos, a neighbour who was one of the first people on the scene. „The trains were totally destroyed, both passenger and freight.” Rescuer Lazaros Sarianidis told ERT that crews were „very carefully” looking to separate the pieces of steel and other metal. „It will take a long time,” he said. Firefighters said 76 people were hospitalised, six of them in intensive care. More than 200 people unharmed or with minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometres (80 miles) to the north. Police took their names to try to trace possible missing persons. Eight railway employees were killed in the crash, including the two train drivers on the goods train and two on the passenger train, said the president of the railway workers’ union, Yannis Nitsas.
