A passenger convoy traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki, with 346 passengers and 10 crew, it collided head-on with a cargo vehicle shortly before midnight. At least 38 people have died and dozens have been injured.
The accident took place around 11:30 p.m., at the exit of a tunnel. Both trains were running on the same track and in the opposite direction.
A passenger convoy traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki, with 346 passengers and 10 crew, it collided head-on with a cargo vehicle shortly before midnight. At least 38 people have died and dozens have been injured.
The accident took place around 11:30 p.m., at the exit of a tunnel. Both trains were running on the same track and in the opposite direction.
A passenger convoy traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki, with 346 passengers and 10 crew, it collided head-on with a cargo vehicle shortly before midnight. At least 38 people have died and dozens have been injured.
The accident took place around 11:30 p.m., at the exit of a tunnel. Both trains were running on the same track and in the opposite direction.
The passenger train covered the route between Athens and Thessaloniki, while the commercial train covered the route between Thessaloniki and Larissa. According to preliminary reports, the passenger convoy diverted into the wrong lane, where the cargo was circulating, which caused the head-on collision between the two.
The reasons why the two trains were running on the same track are still unknown.
The passenger train left the capital at around 7:22 p.m. (local time) for Thessaloniki. The accident took place around 11:30 p.m. between the Larisa and Katerini stations. Many of the 346 passengers on board were young students returning to Thessaloniki after the Greek Orthodox Lenten celebration.
planned schedule
passenger train
Accident
23.30
(approximately)
Source: Hellenic Train (tickets.trainose.gr)
The reasons why the two trains were running on the same track are still unknown.
The passenger train left the capital at around 7:22 p.m. (local time) for Thessaloniki. The accident took place around 11:30 p.m. between the Larisa and Katerini stations. Many of the 346 passengers on board were young students returning to Thessaloniki after the Greek Orthodox Lenten celebration.
Accident
23.30
(approximately)
Expected schedule of the passenger train
Source: Hellenic Train (tickets.trainose.gr)
The reasons why the two trains were running on the same track are still unknown.
The passenger train left the capital at around 7:22 p.m. (local time) for Thessaloniki. The accident took place around 11:30 p.m. between the Larisa and Katerini stations. Many of the 346 passengers on board were young students returning to Thessaloniki after the Greek Orthodox Lenten celebration.
Accident
23.30
(approximately)
Expected schedule of the passenger train
Source: Hellenic Train (tickets.trainose.gr)
The accident stage was double track and had automatic controls installed, but the change and signaling still were done manually. Danger alert systems have not worked for years.
The Larisa station manager, a 59-year-old man, has been arrested after giving a statement. According to the Reuters agency, the detainee has denied any negligence and has blamed the accident on a possible technical failure.
Three wagons almost “completely destroyed”
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Double track and automatic controls,
although they were not working
loading of material
metallurgical
The first wagon was destroyed and the following affected
Three wagons destroyed and two set on fire
Double track and automatic controls installed,
although they were not working
cargo of
metallurgical material
The first wagon was destroyed and the following affected
Three wagons destroyed and two set on fire
Double track and automatic controls installed,
although they were not working
cargo of
metallurgical material
The first wagon was destroyed and the following affected
Three wagons destroyed and two set on fire
The first three carriages of the passenger train derailed in the accident, caught fire and were “almost completely destroyed,” according to Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos. The mayor of Tempe, Giorgos Manoli, has assured that temperatures of 1,200 to 1,500 degrees were reached in the burned wagons, according to reports Europe Press.
Although the details are still unknown, it is feared that many of the victims are students who were gathered in the first two carriages, which suffered the full force of the impact of the crash. The second served as the train’s dining room, according to Guardian.
It is the most serious rail accident in Europe since 2013, when 80 people died in the vicinity of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, when an Alvia derailed.
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