Passenger and freight trains collided in Greece. As a result, more than 30 people died and another 85 were injured. How did the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry react to this?
It is currently unknown if there are citizens of Ukraine among the victims. The speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the situation and told where to contact our fellow countrymen if necessary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperates with the Greek authorities
According to Oleg Nikolenko, Ukrainian diplomats interact with the Greek authorities. Now there are checks whether there were Ukrainians among the victims as a result of a terrible collision of trains .
Also, the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry left the number of the “hot line” of the embassy of our state in Athens: +30 6932 765 606. You can call there by phone if you need help.
What is known about the collision of trains
According to available information, the accident occurred late in the evening on February 28 near the city of Larisa in Greece. Several wagons are known to have derailed. At least 3 of them flared up after the accident.
Note that the passenger train was moving from Athens to Thessaloniki. But the cargo one – from Thessaloniki to Larissa. They clashed in central Greece, said Kostas Agorastos, governor of the Thessaly region.
He noted that the head-on collision was very strong. Two carriages of the passenger train were “almost completely destroyed”. According to Agorastos, about 250 passengers were evacuated to Thessaloniki by bus.
Subsequently, the representative of the fire service, Vassilis Vatrakoyanis, said at a briefing that “currently, 32 dead and 85 injured have been found.” 25 victims are in serious condition. A total of 53 passengers were hospitalized, while the rest were released for outpatient treatment at home.
What eyewitnesses say
28-year-old train passenger Stergios Minenis told reporters what he had to endure during the collision. According to the man, he jumped to safety from the rubble after a terrible accident occurred.
We heard a big bang, it was 10 horrible seconds. We rolled over in the car until we fell on our side … Then there was panic, a fire, the fire caught fire instantly. When we rolled over, we were burned, the fire was on the right and on the left,” he said.
Other people who managed to survive during the accident said that a terrible panic seized the car. Everyone around was screaming. According to another guy, the collision reminded him of an earthquake.
