Thirty-six killed, scores injured after train collision in Greece

At least 36 people have been killed after a head on collision between a passenger train and a cargo train that was followed by an explosion in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki from the capital Athens.

Officials said the death toll was expected to rise further as temperatures in one carriage rose to 1,300 Celsius after it was engulfed in flames.

Authorities are yet to establish the reason for the collision with rescue operations underway for survivors.

“It’s a difficult search-and-rescue operation and we still don’t know the exact number of victims,” the Greek transport minister, Kostas A. Karamanlis, said.

“We will investigate with full seriousness and with full transparency the causes of this tragic incident,” he added.

According to Hellenic Train, about 350 passengers were on the train which operates the route.

Greece’s health minister, Thanos Plevris said that many of them were college students and other young people.

Survivors described scenes of horror, with the impact sending passengers hurtling through train car windows or trapping them under buckled cars.