Train collision incident occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 28, near the city of Larissa in northern Greece. Rescue workers were present at the scene to save passengers and extinguish the fire caused by the accident.
The passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki had 350 passengers, most of whom were students returning to their city from carnival celebrations. While the railway line in this route has two rails, two trains were moving in opposite directions on the same rail, about 380 kilometers north of Athens. The high-speed passenger train collided with a freight train on the same line, resulting in the burning of several carriages and the derailment of other carriages from the rail. The cause of the accident is still unknown. The President and Prime Minister of Greece have visited the scene. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister, has promised to investigate what he calls an indescribable tragedy. The police have accused the local station chief of intentional manslaughter due to negligence and failure. The head of the Greek train drivers’ union, who came to the scene, condemned the safety shortcomings on this railway line, which connects the two main cities of Greece.Greek authorities announced three days of national mourning in response to the incident, and the country’s Minister of Transport also resigned. The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed condolences for the deaths of some Greek citizens in the train collision.
