Station Master

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By The Visual Journalism Team BBC News

Two trains have collided in northern Greece, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens of others. Here's what we know about The Incident So Far .

What Happened ?

A passenger service carrying some 350 people crashed with a Freight Train shortly after leaving Larissa just Before Midnight on Tuesday.

The Incident happened as The Passenger train emerged from a tunnel in the municipality of Tempi.

The First four carriages of The Passenger train were derailed, and The First two caught fire and were " almost completely destroyed" Thessaly regional governor Kostas Agorastos says.

How many casualties were there?

The exact number of casualties is unclear, but Greek news reports say at least 36 people have died and dozens more have been injured, some of them seriously.

A report by The Greek public broadcaster ERT said members of The Passenger train's crew were among The Dead . It said most of The Casualties had been recovered from the third carriage, which was derailed.

A search is continuing of The Wreckage of The First two carriages involving 150 firefighters, using 17 vehicles and four cranes. Forty ambulances are on The Scene .

Elli Kasholi, A Journalist who is at The Scene told The Bbc that 20-25 people are Still Missing after The Crash but some of these may be people who left The Scene without being accounted for.

Who was on The Train ?

The Passenger train involved was about two-thirds full with many Young People , Reuters news agency reports, citing eyewitnesses.

It was travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki, which has a sizeable student population, and it's believed many would have been returning there after a holiday for Greek Orthodox lent.

The City 's student associations are calling for a full investigation with no " cover-up".

The Freight Train was heading from Thessaloniki to Larissa.

What went wrong?

It is still unclear what caused The Crash but the regional governor says the two services were running on the same track.

A local Station Master , based at Larissa which The Passenger train had passed through, has been arrested. Police say the 59-year-old has been charged with manslaughter by negligence and grievous Bodily Harm by negligence.

The Station Master , who is in charge of signalling, denies wrongdoing and has blamed The Accident on a possible technical failure.

Rail unions say there have been long-running problems with the electronic systems that are supposed to warn drivers of Danger Ahead .

" Nothing works. Everything happens manually throughout the Athens-Thesaloniki network. Neither the indicators, nor the traffic lights, nor the electronic traffic control work, " train drivers' association president Kostas Genidounias told ERT.

What survivors have said

Some survivors have described The Moment the trains collided as like an earthquake.

" We heard a big bang, " said 28-year-old passenger Stergios Minenis, who jumped to safety from The Wreckage .

" We were turning over in The Carriage until we fell on our sides and until the commotion stopped. Then there was panic. Cables, fire. The Fire was immediate. As we were turning over we were being burned. Fire was right and left, " Mr Minenis was quoted as saying by Reuters.

" For 10, 15 seconds it was chaos. Tumbling over, fires, cables hanging, Broken Windows , people screaming, people trapped. "

Another passenger named Lazos told the newspaper Protothema: " I wasn't hurt, but I was stained with blood from Other People who were injured near me. "

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com