Greece declared a three-day national mourning Wednesday, following the collision of two trains in a northern town, where at least 40 people have died in the worst train accident in the country’s history.
Officials said at least 130 people have been injured and 66 hospitalized, while rescued teams are on the accident site to find more trapped passengers under the train debris.
Greek state TV ERT said seven people have been burned in the accident.
The passenger train was reportedly carrying 346 people on its way from Athens to Thessaloniki, with the trains colliding in the town of Tempi of northern Larissa province.
According to officials, several passengers were reported to be students returning home after the carnival celebrations over the weekend.
Reports said several carriages came off the rails and at least three of them caught fire after the two trains collided.
Meanwhile, the Greek police and medical examiners have started the process of identifying bodies at the general hospital in Larissa.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said in statements outside the General Hospital of Larissa that the priority for the ministry is to treat those injured and support the families which have lost loved ones.
“We have psychologists to support the relatives. It is a terrifying process for parents and families. We will try to make identification as swift as possible, despite the difficulties," he added.
Meanwhile, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, on her way to visit the site of the deadly accident, said in a statement: "We are facing an unimaginable tragedy. We mourn mainly young people."
- Reactions from politicians
“What happened is unthinkable. Our thoughts are with the people who died so unjustly. Condolences to the families of the victims and support to those injured,” the leader of the main opposition, Syriza Alexis Tsipras, said.
"This is a day of unspeakable grief at the unprecedented train accident with multiple deaths at Tempi, but also of fury at how it was possible for human lives to be lost in this tragic way," General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece Dimitris Koutsoumpas said in a statement.
"We demand a full investigation into the causes of this tragedy, with nothing hidden or covered up," he added.
PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis, on his way to the scene, said in a statement: “My thoughts are with the families of the victims and the injured.”
Source: Anadolu Agency