The scouring of Greece’s deadliest train crash survivors resumes on Thursday. The expectation of anyone making it alive after more than 34 hours appears very slim.
Constantinos Imamidis, a rescuer, stated that finding survivors considering the temperature of the carriages will be “very difficult.”
He lamented about how they are digging out corpses instead of saving lives.
A heart-melting train collision incident in Larissa has desolated the lands of Greece. The crash is considered the most violent one that Greece has seen in decades, with a death toll of 38 and injuries to 85 people. The force of the collision was so massive that it tossed the carriage off the track. In 10 seconds, the lives of many Greek citizens changed forever.
There is a likelihood of a spike in the death toll, which is what the fire department official mentioned. The official also stated that out of the sixty-six wounded hospitalized, six were admitted to the intensive care unit.
The accident took place near the city of Larissa in Greece. It all transpired on Tuesday night. The collision was between a passenger train and a cargo train. The passenger train had 350 people, whereas the cargo train had two crew members.
Just in “ten seconds,” a thick plume of smoke rose at the site, indicating the carriages were all derailed and tossed off the tracks. Two carriages were set ablaze immediately after the crash of the trains.
The regional governor of the Thessaly region, Kostas Agorastos, mentioned in a local media channel that the collision was extremely powerful. It was a horrific night, and the scene is too heartbreaking to describe. The thick plume of smoke was fuming from the first four derailed carriages of the passenger train, and the first two carriages were blazing to a point that they are now destroyed
Marking the beginning of the Greek Orthodox lent, quite a lot of passengers boarded the train with the expectation of returning home after a long holiday weekend.
The rescue teams are still on rounds to search for the survivors from Tuesday night.
Greek emergency services mentioned that cranes were used to clear the wreckage, and almost 150 firefighters and ambulances were at the scene.
The accident was reported shortly after midnight to the fire brigade. The train left Athen around 7.30 p.m., and the cargo train had been traveling from Thessaloniki to Larissa, which is what the local media reported.
As a part of its bailout program, Greece sold TRAINOSE, a railway operator, to Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, 2017. Greece was anticipating a hefty investment in rail infrastructure in the years to come.
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane is a significant contributor to the rail transport in Greece for passengers and goods shipments. It runs 342 passenger and commercial routes a day. The website of the company mentions these details.
Grey areas to inspect the accident
The governor of Thessaly, Konstantinos Agorastos, confirmed that the trains were running on the same track when they crashed into each other. It has become crucial to examine why the passenger and cargo trains ran on the same railroad at the time of the crash.
The police have interrogated three witnesses, including representatives of the Hellenic Train. The station master in Larissa was also arrested on Wednesday. On Thursday, his appearance was anticipated before the local magistrate.
In Greece, many trains are run on single tracks and signaled. There has not been the installation of automatic control systems in several areas. Thus, it is crucial for the ageing railway system of Greece to have a modernized upgrade.
The Greek government has announced a three-day-long national mourning over the lamentable accident.