Name: Trains Collide in Greece, at Least 36 Killed, Dozens Injured
Uploaded: 2023-03-01T16:20:05.000Z
Description: LARISSA, Greece—A passenger train and a cargo train collided head-on in Greece on Tuesday night, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks.

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Smart Spending: How to Save on Summer Travel

UAE Suffered More Iranian Missiles Than Israel, Paving Way for Iron Dome: Analyst

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Washington Event to Rededicate US as ‘One Nation Under God’

Best-Selling Author Concerned Christians May Be Next in China’s State-Sanctioned Organ Trade

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Pentagon Paves the Way to Buy 10,000 Containerized Missiles

US Reports No Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Outbreak

Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for NTD and The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Juliette Fairley

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Rubio: China is ‘Top Geopolitical Challenge’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Woman Killed in 2019 Boeing Max Crash

Andrew Moran has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."

Andrew Moran

China News

Trump Departs China After 2-Day Talks With Xi

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 5)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Kos Temenes

LARISSA, Greece—A passenger train and a cargo train collided head-on in Greece on Tuesday night, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country's deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks.

Many of the victims were thought to be university students on their way back from a long holiday weekend. The death toll was expected to rise further, officials said.

"There was panic ... the fire was immediate, as we were turning over we were being burned, fire was right and left," said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage.

A passenger who escaped from the fifth carriage told Skai TV: "Windows were being smashed and people were screaming ... One of the windows caved in from the impact of iron from the other train."

Cranes lifted derailed passenger carriages in the morning, as rescuers continued to scour through the smouldering mangled mass of steel. One carriage stood on its side at almost 90 degrees from the rest of the wrecked train, with others tilting precariously.

The local station master, in charge of signalling, has been arrested, a police official said, as investigators tried to find out why the two trains had been on the same track.

"It's an unthinkable tragedy. Our thoughts today are with the relatives of the victims," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the site of the crash, looking shattered.

"One thing I can guarantee; we will find out the causes of this tragedy and do anything in our power for it never to happen again."

The crash occurred as the passenger train that was headed to the northern Greece city of Thessaloniki from the capital Athens emerged from a tunnel near the town of Larissa.

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said the two trains had been running towards each other on the same track "for many kilometres" before the crash.
<h2>'Mum, I'm Hurt'</h2>
The passenger train was carrying 342 travellers and 10 crew, while two crew were on the cargo train, according to Hellenic Train data.

Sixty-six of those injured were hospitalised, six of whom in intensive care, a fire brigade official said.

Survivors were evacuated to Thessaloniki, where one woman ran to embrace her daughter as she disembarked from a bus with other survivors.

"Mum don't, I'm hurt," the daughter said. Another woman, who was waiting there, said her child was not picking up the phone.

The head of the emergency unit in Larissa hospital, Apostolos Komnos, said most of the dead were young people, in their 20s.

The government declared three days of national mourning, from Wednesday to Friday, with flags flying at half-mast in a tribute to the victims of the crash.

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou cut short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece.

"Even at this moment, a life-saving operation is going on to help those who are on this death train," she told a news conference in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.

Rescue crews operate at the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, on March 1, 2023. (Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters)


<h2>"Tragedy"</h2>
ERT state TV showed one crew carrying what was thought to be a victim, covered in a white sheet, to an ambulance.

Fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Varthakogiannis said the evacuation of passengers took place in "difficult conditions given the severity of the collision of the two trains."

"We are living through a tragedy. We are pulling out people alive, injured ... there are dead," he said.

The cargo train had been travelling from Thessaloniki to Larissa. Local media said the train left Athens around 7.30 pm (0530 GMT). The fire brigade said it was informed of the accident shortly before midnight.

Greece sold railway operator TRAINOSE to Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 as part of its international bailout programme, expecting hundreds of millions of euros to be invested in rail infrastructure in the coming years.

According to the Italian company's website, it is the main provider of rail transport for passengers and freight in Greece and runs 342 passenger and commercial routes a day.

Greece's ageing railway system is in need of modernizing, with many trains travelling on single tracks and signalling and automatic control systems still to be installed in many areas.

<em>By Alexandros Avramidis and Renee Maltezou</em>

crash

Videos

greece

04_Top Stories

trains

Latest Clips

Europe

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

Trains Collide in Greece, at Least 36 Killed, Dozens Injured

2023 NTD International Figure Painting Competition Calling for Entries

Social Robotics Potentially Applied in Healthcare, Education and the Workplace

TSA Recruiting Over 400 New Air Marshals Amid Retirement Wave

Pandemic Policy Agreement Between US, WHO Establishes Failed Response Measures on Global Level: Jeffrey Tucker

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (Feb. 28)

Virginia Moves to Ban China From Buying Farmland

Peter Wilson formerly reported from Ontario, Canada. 