38 Killed In A Train Collision In Greece: 10 Things To Know

The train collision in Greece that led to the demise of 38 people was said to be caused by "tragic human error" according to Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This has become the worst rail tragedy in the country. A passenger train and a freight train collided near the central city of Larissa on Tuesday, crushing two carriages and leaving a third carriage engulfed in flames.

The fire department revealed that the death toll had increased to 38 and that 57 people were hospitalised with injuries. Six of them are in an intensive care unit. Officials also added that several passengers were missing.

Train Collision In Greece: 10 Things To Know

1. In the country's worst train accident, 38 people died when a passenger train and a freight train collided near Greece's Larissa on Tuesday. 57 were hospitalised with injuries out of which six were in the intensive care unit.
2. Some passengers were being identified by body parts. 17 biological samples were collected from the remains, and authorities are seeking a match from relatives.
3. The transport minister of Greece submitted his resignation after the accident.
4. Protesters started throwing stones at the offices of the railway’s operating company, Hellenic Train, on Wednesday evening in the country’s capital, Athens. The police had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd of protesters.
5. The passenger train was carrying more than 350 passengers travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki.
6. The station master of Larissa was arrested after the accident for negligent homicide. According to government spokesperson Yiannis Economou, both trains had been left to run on the same track for several kilometres.
7. Train unionists, on the other hand, claim that the station master was merely a scapegoat because the safety issues on the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line had been known for years.
8. The train crew complained in an open letter about the inadequacy and poor maintenance of track safety systems. Last year, a safety supervisor submitted his resignation after warning that the infrastructure upgrades have been pending since 2016. He also claimed that the train reached speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour, which was unsafe.
9. The president of the train drivers' union, Kostas Genidounias, said that the accident would not have happened if the safety systems were working.
10. The Greek authorities have declared three days of national mourning following the accident.

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