Many of the victims are believed to be university students who were returning home after an extended weekend to celebrate Carnival, which precedes Lent. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.
Greece’s worst train crash in history occurred Tuesday at 11:24 p.m. local time. The incident involved a freight train and a passenger train carrying more than 350 passengers that collided and derailed. At least 43 people were killed in the crash and more than 70 people were injured.The cause of the fatal head-on collision of two trains in the Tempe Valley near Larissa, Greece, was due to “tragic human error,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address.Flags flew at half-staff in Athens as well as all European Commission buildings in Brussels as a tribute to victims of the crash. The Greek government also declared three days of national mourning regarding the tragedy.“It’s an unthinkable tragedy. Our thoughts today are with the relatives of the victims,“ Mitsotakis said at the site of the crash.Station Manager Arrested as Transportation Minister ResignsThe station manager of the Larissa train station testified before a prosecutor and has since been arrested in connection to the incident. He was charged with mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence.The 59-year-old official initially denied any wrongdoing, explaining to investigators that the accident was caused by a possible technical failure, a police official said.
