32 dead, 85 hurt as two trains collide in Greece; rescue ops on

New York: Two trains collided head-on in Greece killing at least 32 people and injuring 85 others, the fire brigade said, but the cause of the deadliest rail crash in Greece in decades remained unclear.

An intercity passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided at high speed with a cargo train outside the city of Larissa in central Greece, said the governor of the Thessaly region.

The impact caused a fire in a number of the passenger carriages, burning many commuters who were rushed to hospitals.

Thessaly regional governor Konstantinos Agorastos told SKAI TV that the first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed in the crash, while the first two carriages, which caught fire, were “almost completely destroyed”.

He said the two trains hurtled towards each other on the same track.

“They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didn’t know the other was coming,” the governor said.

About 250 passengers were evacuated safely to Thessaloniki on buses. Broadcaster SKAI showed footage of derailed carriages, badly damaged with broken windows and thick plumes of smoke, as well as debris strewn across the road. Rescue workers were seen carrying torches in carriages looking for trapped passengers.

Image courtesy of thesatimes

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