A collision between a freight train and a passenger train traveling between Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece, killed “at least 26 people” and “85 injured” on Tuesday evening, firefighters announced.
“At least 26 people have been found dead so far,” the spokesperson for the Greek fire service told a press conference, adding that the rescue operation was still ongoing.
“85 people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals,” he added.
The spokesman confirmed that three wagons derailed at the town of Larissa, in the center of the country, after the collision between a freight train and another convoy carrying 350 passengers.
One of the wagons caught fire and several people were trapped, according to the public television channel Ert.
On the Skai television channel, Kostas Agorastos, the governor of the region, said that “more than 250 passengers were transferred by bus to Thessaloniki”.
“Unfortunately the number of injured and dead is likely to be high,” he continued.
A government crisis meeting was organised.
“We experienced something very shocking,” said Lazos, a passenger interviewed by Protothema newspaper. “I’m not injured, but I’m stained with the blood of other people who were injured next to me,” he said.
The two hospitals in the Larissa region have been requisitioned to accommodate the many injured, according to local media Onlarissa.