38 people died and 85 were injured in the worst accident in Greek history when multiple bogies derailed and at least three bogies caught fire. Government spokesman Yiannis Economou said the two trains had been running on the same track for "several kilometres".
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "human error" may have caused the train collision in the country's worst rail disaster. The station master of Larissa was arrested hours after the accident and charged with negligent homicide. He will be produced before the prosecutor today. Greece's transport minister resigned hours after the accident.
The fire department had earlier raised the death toll to 38, adding that 57 people were still in hospital, six of whom were in intensive care, and many others were missing.
In the accident, metal and glass were broken and smoke could be seen in the field. According to the police, 17 biological samples were taken from the remains and matches were sought from 23 relatives.
Protests took place yesterday evening at Thessaloniki railway station and in the city of Larissa, as well as outside the Athens office of Hellenic Trains, the railway's Italian-owned operating company. In Athens, riot police fired tear gas at protesters throwing stones at the offices of Hellenic Train. The company said it is working with the authorities and has offered financial assistance to passengers.
In an open letter in February, train crews said track safety systems were incomplete and poorly maintained. A safety supervisor resigned last year after warning that infrastructure upgrades pending since 2016 were incomplete and trains at speeds of up to 200km/h were unsafe.
The President of the Train Drivers Union says that the accident could have been avoided if the safety systems had worked. But rail union members say they have known about safety deficiencies on the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line for years.
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe with thousands of islands throughout the Aegean and Ionian seas. Influential in ancient times, it's often called the cradle of Western civilization. Athens, its capital, retains landmarks including the 5th-century B.C. Acropolis citadel with the Parthenon temple. Greece is also known for its beaches, from the black sands of Santorini to the party resorts of Mykonos.
