Greece Train Collision Kills At Least 40

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Facts

• At least 40 people were killed after a passenger and cargo train collided head-on outside the town of Tempe in central Greece late on Tuesday.¹
• Sixty-six of at least 85 injured people have been taken to hospitals in nearby Larissa, and about 250 passengers who received minor injuries were evacuated safely to Thessaloniki on buses.²
• The passenger train, traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki, reportedly had approximately 350 passengers on board, mostly students returning from Greece's three-day Carnival.³
• On Wednesday afternoon, the Greek state broadcaster ERT reported that between 50 and 60 people are still missing. A three-day national mourning period has also been declared.¹
• While an investigation is still underway, the local station master — who oversees signaling — has reportedly been arrested and charged with causing deaths and bodily harm through negligence, though he denies responsibility, citing a possible technical failure. Greece's transport minister has also resigned.⁴
• Tuesday's incident was Greece's worst train accident in living memory, surpassing a 1968 collision involving two passenger trains near the coastal city of Corinth that left at least 34 people dead and dozens injured.⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Daily Mail, ³NPR Online News, ⁴BBC News and ⁵Washington Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by New york times. Tuesday's accident, unfortunately, highlights Greece's worrying railway safety record, which has the highest overall railway fatality rate among the EU countries. Countless lives will continue to be lost if endemic problems of unsafe level crossings, poor infrastructure and traffic management systems, and understaffed companies aren't addressed.
• Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Despite facing a plethora of problems, Greece's aging railway system is moving towards modernization. While the cause of Tuesday's crash has not been ascertained yet, Greek authorities are moving quickly in their investigation and search and rescue, which, for now, is rightly prioritizing victims and their families.