Two trains collide in Greece leaving at least 36 people dead

At least 36 people were killed in a train crash in northeast Greece and 66 more were injured, the local fire department said. 

The crash, the country’s worst in decades, took place in the Tempe valley when a passenger train traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided with a cargo train, igniting a fire. Authorities are investigating “the circumstances under which two trains moving in opposite directions happened to be on the same track for many kilometers,” according to government spokesman Ioannis Oikonomou.

Trainose, which was renamed in 2021 to Hellenic Train, operated the passenger train. The company was sold in 2017 to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group. 

The fire brigade said it was informed of the accident, close to the city of Larissa, just before midnight on Tuesday. Out of 66 hospitalized people, six are in intensive care units.  

A search and rescue operation is ongoing, and authorities are looking into the cause of the accident.