The horror from inside the trains: Splashed

 

Thessaloniki  

Many students in the train crash: Parents are waiting for their children  

Four arrested after the train accident: A terrible tragedy 

Of:  

Anna Sjögren,  

TT  

Published: Less than 2 hours ago  

Updated: Less than 40 min ago  

NEWS  

Survivors testify to scenes of horror when the two trains collided head-on outside Athens.  

Many of the passengers were young students on their way home from a long weekend celebration. 

- The worst thing was to see all the parents who were waiting for their children at the station in Thessaloniki - and who could not find them, says a Greek journalist.  

The rescue work at the scene of the accident in the city of Larissa continues during Wednesday morning. An intensive effort is underway to find survivors of the crash, which rescue workers describe as the worst they have ever seen. 

- We pull out injured people - and dead people. This is a tragedy, says a rescue worker.  

Four cranes are being used to lift what remains of the trains after the horrific collision. And after five hours of work, bodies are still being found.  

- Carriages one and two no longer exist, the third has derailed, says a local resident who was one of the first on the scene. 

Photo: AP TT NEWS AGENCY 

"People screamed and got stuck"  

350 people were on the passenger train when, for some reason, it entered the same track as a freight train and collided head-on.  

A carriage derailed and three of the carriages caught fire. Survivors testify of panic and terror from inside the train cars. They tell of how the train was filled with fire on impact and windows exploded. 

- The windows were broken, people were screaming and people were stuck. We had to jump from a height of two meters to get out of the train and the ground below was covered in iron debris - but what could we do?  

Passenger Lazos says that many were injured next to him. 

- I was not injured, but I was splashed with blood from other people who were injured near me, he tells a Greek newspaper. Others say that they used bags to break windows and get out of the carriages.  

Families gather at the station 

38 people have so far been confirmed dead. 130 people are injured. 250 people could be evacuated and driven by buses to the station in Thessaloniki.

Families have gathered there in the hope of seeing their relatives get off. Many on the train were students. Many of them had been on their way for a long weekend in connection with the celebration of the Greek carnival holiday.  

Greek journalist Alexia Kalaitzei has spoken to survivors at the station. 

- We spoke to many young people who were in total shock. The worst part was seeing all the parents who were waiting for their children at the station in Thessaloniki - and who couldn't find them, she told the BBC.  

Four people have been arrested after the violent train crash in Greece last night, Greek media reports. 

An investigation has been initiated  

The train company's CEO has spoken out about the accident and calls it a terrible mistake.  

An investigation has been launched to find out the causes of the accident. 

- The causes of this tragic accident will be investigated by the competent authorities to clarify how it happened that two trains moved many kilometers on the same line in the opposite direction, says the government representative Yiannis Oikonompu for the TV channel ETR.  

Greece's Deputy Prime Minister Mina Gaga has spoken out after the accident.  

- This is a terrible tragedy that is difficult to grasp. I deeply regret the affected parents, she says in a statement.

         Photo: Vaggelis Kousioras / AP 

          Photo: Vaggelis Kousioras / AP

 

”Människor skrek och satt fast”

350 personer befann sig på passagerartåget när det av någon anledning kom in på samma spår som ett godståg och frontalkrockade. En vagn spårade ur och tre av vagnarna började brinna.

Överlevare vittnar om panik och skräcks inifrån tågvagnarna. De berättar om hur tåget fylldes av eld vid kollisionen och fönsterrutor exploderade.

– Fönstren var trasiga, folk skrek och människor satt fast. Vi fick hoppa från två meters höjd för att ta oss ur tåget och marken nedanför var täckt av järnskräp – men vad kunde vi göra?

Passageraren Lazos berättar att många skadades intill honom.

– Jag skadades inte, men jag blev nedstänkt av blod från andra människor som skadades nära mig, säger han till en grekisk tidning.

Andra berättar att de använt sig av väskor för att krossa fönster och ta sig ut ur vagnarna.