At least 26 killed, 85 injured after trains collide in Greece; rescue ops underway

26 people were killed and at least 85 were injured after a passenger train collided with an oncoming cargo train in Greece on the intervening night between Tuesday and Wednesday.  Following the accident in Tempe, several train coaches derailed, and at least three of them caught fire, according to an AP news story.

Thessaly area governor Konstantinos Agorastos told the local news organisation Skai TV that the impact was "very strong." The first two coaches of the passenger train were "almost totally wrecked," he continued, while the first four coaches crashed.

Around 250 passengers, according to Agorastos, have been successfully removed. According to local media, the train was carrying about 350 passengers.

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In a televised address, fire service spokesman Vassilis Varthakoyiannis said the evacuation process is underway. He added that the rescue efforts were hindered by the severity of the collision between the two trains.

In order to look for people hidden beneath the wreckage, rescuers dragged out shattered pieces of sheet metal from the wrecked train cars while wearing headlamps to see through the dense haze.

While the fire department reported that the fire had been put out and that "some passengers" had been dragged from the debris incapacitated, local media accounts claimed that "tens of people" had been hurt. Videos that were widely shared on social media showed derailed trains that were severely damaged, had shattered windows, and were smoking as rescuers tried to locate imprisoned people.

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