TEMPE, Greece (AP) — A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train flattened carriages, killed at least 36 people and injured some 85, Greek officials said Wednesday, with the death toll expected to rise.
Associated Press
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but the stationmaster in the nearby city of Larissa was arrested Wednesday. The police did not release his name. Another two people have been detained for questioning.
Before dawn the next day, rescuers searched through smoking wreckage for survivors. What appeared to be the third carriage lay atop the twisted remains of the first two.
It’s unclear at what speed the two trains were traveling when they ran into each other just before midnight Tuesday, but state broadcaster ERT quoted rescuers as saying that some victims’ bodies were found 30-40 meters (100-130 feet) from the impact site. Multiple cars derailed, and at least three burst into flames in the crash near the town of Tempe, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens.