A high-speed passenger train collided with an approaching freight train in Greece, sending entire carriages flying off the tracks and resulting in at least 36 fatali

A high-speed passenger train collided with an approaching freight train in Greece, sending entire carriages flying off the tracks and resulting in at least 36 fatalities and several injuries.

According to officials, 66 of the injured have been hospitalized, with six of them being in intensive care. Buses carrying about 250 people were used to transport them securely to Thessaloniki.

Many university students going home after a long weekend commemorating the beginning of Greek Orthodox Lent were among the hundreds of passengers on board the passenger train. According to data from Hellenic Train, the passenger train had 342 passengers and 10 crew members, while the cargo train had two crew members.

The passenger train was coming out of a motorway underpass on Tuesday just before midnight when it collided, causing multiple cars to derail and at least three to catch fire.

At 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens is Tempe, a small town next to a valley with significant rail and highway tunnels.

"There were numerous enormous pieces of steel," claimed Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who was one of the first people on the scene. "All trains, both passenger and freight, were utterly wrecked."

According to Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greece's firefighting department, "the evacuation operation is underway and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains.

"The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the accident between the two trains," Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesperson for Greece's firefighting department was cited as saying to Associated Press.

Rescue operations are still being conducted through dense smoke plumes to extract any survivors from the wreckage, and dozens of ambulances have been sent to the region.

The treatment of the injured, looking through the rubble for missing individuals, and providing psychological assistance to the victims' families by psychologists who are traveling to Larissa city are currently the top priorities, according to government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou.

Survivors said that the collision felt like an earthquake

Many passengers were propelled through the train's windows as a result of the impact.

Unidentified teen survivor: "Our carriage didn't derail, but the ones in front did and were shattered.

He continued by saying that the first car caught fire and that he had to escape by smashing the window of the fourth car with a bag.

Thessaly's regional governor, Costas Agorastos, described the crash as "extremely forceful" and that it was "a dreadful night."

"The train's front section was destroyed. Cranes and other specialized lifting tools will be brought in to clean the debris and lift the rail cars. Around the crash site, debris has been thrown everywhere.

Speaking to Skai television in Greece, he claimed that the two trains collided head-on and quickly.

The third carriage has derailed, and carriages one and two are no longer present.

Over 350 people rode the passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, according to rail operator Hellenic Train.

The Italian FS Group, which operates train services in numerous European nations, manages Greek Train.

Hellenic Train expressed "its heartfelt regret for the sad accident" in a statement.

According to a representative of Hellenic Train, the police and a prosecutor have launched an inquiry to determine what caused the accident.

In 1972, 19 people were killed when two trains collided head-on outside Larissa.

At least 36 dead and scores injured in a head-on crash between two trains in Greece

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