Victims Of Death Of Train Collision In Greece Increased To 38 People: Minister Resigns, Head Of Station Arrested

Illustration of trains used to serve passengers in Greece. (WIkimedia Commons/Falk2)

JAKARTA - The death toll from a passenger train collision with a freight train in Greece has risen to 38, with a station master arrested in the country's deadliest train crash.

Most of the victims are thought to be students returning home after a long holiday weekend. Officials said that the death toll was expected to continue to rise.

Authorities are working to determine how the high-speed passenger train collided with another train carrying shipping containers, which was coming from the opposite direction and on the same track at an estimated speed of 160 km (100 miles) per hour.

"Everything in this tragedy was, unfortunately, primarily due to human error," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address on Wednesday.

Passengers described a "nightmare" accident that set their train on fire just before midnight near downtown Larissa, about 200 miles north of Athens. The train departed from the Greek capital and was heading to the northern city of Thessaloniki.

Some people kick the windows to escape from hell. Others were thrown up to 40 meters (130 ft) upon impact.

"There was panic... The fire broke out quickly. When we turned around we were set on fire, fire was right and left," said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old man who jumped to safety.

"Windows were smashed and people were screaming... One of the windows collapsed due to the iron impact of the other train," another passenger, who escaped from the fifth carriage, told Skai TV.

A station master was arrested as investigators tried to figure out why the two trains were on the same track "for several kilometres", while the country's transport minister resigned.

Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis tendered his resignation, saying he was responsible for the "long-standing failure of the state" to improve the rail system which he said was unsuitable for the 21st century.

Meanwhile, the local station chief, who is in charge of signaling, has been charged with causing mass death by negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence, a police official said.

The 59-year-old man denied responsibility and said the crash was caused by a technical failure, the official said.

As rescuers combed through piles of smoldering and shattered steel in the morning, cranes lifted the windowless carriages.

Fire service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis said the heat in the first carriage made it difficult to identify those trapped inside, or say how many died. Based on that, the death toll is likely to increase, he said.

Flags flew at half-mast in Athens and in Brussels, with the Greek Government declaring three days of national mourning.

"This is an unimaginable tragedy. Our thoughts today are with the families of the victims," ​​said PM Mitsotakis, who looked devastated.

In a later statement, he said he had accepted the resignations of senior officials at rail operator OSE and its subsidiary, ERGOSE.

In Athens, about 1,000 people protested outside the offices of Hellenic Train, another branch of the rail network, where some threw stones at windows.

The police dispersed them with tear gas.

Hellenic Train said it had halted all train schedules on Thursday after train workers said they would go on strike.

"Pain has turned to anger for the dozens of colleagues and citizens who have been killed and injured," the union said in a statement announcing the strike.

"The disrespect shown over the years by the government to Greek railways has led to tragic results," he continued.

They say they have repeatedly called for permanent staff additions, training and the adoption of modern security technologies, but have been ignored.

Yiannis Ditsas, the head of the railway workers' union, told Skai TV that the automatic signaling at the accident site was not working. There was no immediate official comment.