Train collision due to 'tragic human error', PM says

TEMPE, Greece — A rail disaster in northern Greece that killed at least 46 people when a passenger service collided head-on with a freight train was mainly due to a "tragic human error", Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said.

Rescuers combed through charred and buckled rail carriages for more victims on Thursday.

The passengers train from Athens to Thessaloniki was carrying 350 people, many of them students returning from Carnival celebrations. The freight train was traveling in the opposite direction on the same line when the collision happened near the Vale of Tempe, about 380 kilometers north of Athens, just before midnight on Tuesday.

The crash threw some passengers into ceilings and out the windows. "My head hit the roof of the carriage with the jolt," Stefanos Gogakos, who was in a rear car, told state broadcaster ERT. He said windows shattered, showering riders with glass.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the incident a "horrific rail accident without precedent in our country "and pledged a full, independent investigation. He said it appeared the crash was "mainly due to a tragic human error" but did not elaborate.

"I've never seen anything like this in my entire life," said one rescue worker, emerging from the wreckage. "It's tragic. Five hours later, we are finding bodies."

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said on Thursday that Greece will do everything it can to prevent a repeat of such a disaster. "We have an obligation to do everything to never live moments like this ever again," he told a news briefing.

The station master on duty during the crash has "confessed" his responsibility over the accident, Oikonomou said. "I believe the responsibility, the negligence, the error has been confessed by the station master."

Oikonomou has expressed the government's condolences and announced a three-day national mourning. From Wednesday to Friday, flags were to fly at half-mast on all public buildings and all public festivities were to be suspended.

Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned on Wednesday over the crash, saying he was stepping down "as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly".

The newly appointed transport minister said he was taking over on Thursday with a mandate to investigate the train crash, to modernize an ailing railway system and to restore safety in train travel.

"It is a very heavy responsibility," Giorgos Gerapetritis told reporters during the handover at the ministry.

The union representing train workers announced a 24-hour strike for Thursday, and protests by left-wing groups broke out in Athens late on Wednesday.

Athens metro workers also called a 24-hour strike for Thursday, saying they face similar problems as railway employees.

Agencies - Xinhua