Greece’s Police announced on Thursday evening, the death toll from the deadly train collision in Tempi rose to 57. Since early in the morning, firefighters recovered a total of 14 bodies from inside the third carriage of the passenger train. The bodies were completely burned.
“The total number of dead is by one person higher than initially thought,” the Police spokesperson added.
So far, 46 injured passengers remain hospitalized, six of them aged 20-24 are in Intensive Care Units, struggling for their lives.
According to doctors, there are comparatively few patients with life-threatening injuries from the crash and several of the less serious cases are expected to be discharged from Thessaloniki hospital on Thursday.
Several areas in Greece have organized blood drives to help collect blood for the injured.
The number of missing persons is estimated to be less than ten, even though thee are fears they could be more.
Passengers got on board of the train at the Larissa station an hour after the ticket counters was closed.
According to media, next to the recovered bodies there are also 13 bags containing collected dismembered body parts that have been transferred to the morgue.
Many of the bodies recovered from the damaged wagons are either burned or so dis-formed and difficult to be identified by their relatives.
Media reported that a mother could only identify her daughter from a piece of a t-shirt.
Medical authorities have taken DNA samples from some 54 families in order to be able to proceed with the identification of the killed passengers and the 10-member crew.
However, even if the identification is successful, the drama for the families is devastating.
“My husband and my 5-year-old child were in the first wagon. I have nothing to bury but ashes,” Antonia told Open TV.
Several survivors and families of injured passengers have hired lawyers seeking the legal way to find justice.
Firefights and rescue team continue their efforts to recover bodies and are also looking through the charred remnants of the first two carriages with the assistance of cranes, which are utterly destroyed and also caught fire, working with great care due to the highly dangerous conditions.
The Fire Service said on Wednesday that temperatures reached 1,300 degrees Celsius inside the two carriages that got fire after the collision.
The deadly head-on collision of a passenger and freight train, which ended up on the same track moving in opposite directions at high speed, occurred late on Tuesday night.
KTG, maybe you only need to say that some victims can only be identified by their dna, no need to be so descriptive, I think we can imagine what’s happened to them.
RIP to the victims, so sad
My deepest felt condolances to all victims nearest and dearest! Such a horribel accident!
But this is what will happen when companies and society starts cutting in maintenace, so dangerous! And it effects us all, in so many ways….