ATHENS - The death toll from the collision of two trains in central Greece on Tuesday night has increased to 36, while 66 injured people were still hospitalised, including six in serious condition in intensive care units, the Greek Fire Service said on Wednesday.
More than 150 firefighters, including special units, were participating in the search and rescue operation for survivors in the wreckage, the spokesperson of the Fire Service, Vasilios Vathrakogiannis, told a press briefing.
Efforts are focused on the first three carriages of the passenger train that crashed into a freight train close to midnight at Tempi municipality, he said. The trains were engulfed in flames after the collision.
"It is worth noting that in the specific carriage a fire broke out and temperatures were particularly high, reaching even 1300 degrees Celsius," Vathrakogiannis said.
"(This) makes it hard to identify the people who were inside. The confirmed number of dead is 36 but based on these facts, and the findings from the scene of the tragedy, the number is expected to be greater."
A total of 346 passengers were on board the passenger train, national broadcaster ERT reported, citing the Hellenic Train rail operator.
An investigation into the cause of the accident has been launched, Greek police said.
Greek government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou expressed the government's condolences for the tragedy and announced three days of national mourning. From Wednesday to Friday, flags will fly at half-mast on all public buildings and all public festivities will be suspended, according to an e-mailed statement.
The authorities will have to clarify how the two trains were moving on the same track for many kilometers from different directions, he said.
The passenger train was heading to the port city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece from the capital Athens, while the cargo train had departed from Thessaloniki for Athens.
The president of the train drivers' association, Kostas Genidounias, told ERT that there were shortcomings in the operation of the railways that should be addressed.
Electronic traffic control systems that warn drivers of dangers ahead had not been working and the Athens-Thessaloniki network was run in manual mode, he said.
Meanwhile, Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis submitted his resignation, he said on Wednesday.
He said in a statement that resigning was his duty and "the least he could do to honour the memory of the victims", adding that he was undertaking the responsibility for the state's "long-standing failures".
Greek authorities have arrested a 59-year-old man over the collision, police sources said.
The station master of a train station in the city of Larissa testified before a prosecutor and was arrested, a government official said.
A police official said that the prosecutor laid misdemeanour charges against him. He has been charged with mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence, the official added.
The man has denied any wrongdoing and has attributed the accident to a possible technical failure, the police official said.
XINHUA and REUTERS