Rage explodes in Greece following devastating train collision

Rage has exploded in Greece following the train collision in the Vale of Tempe, near Larissa. The provisional death count has risen to 46 when seven carbonised bodies were extracted from the train wreckage.

For the most part, the victims are students who were returning to Thessaloniki after the orthodox Carnival, ANSA reports.

On March 2, all train lines are not operating due to a 24-hour strike called by the Pan-Hellenic Train Federation (POS), while protesters clashed with the police in Athens in front of the headquarter of the Hellenic Train, the company responsible for train maintenance in Greece. Protests are also ongoing in Thessaloniki and in Larissa. A banner was placed outside the hospital where the wounded were taken, denouncing the deficiencies of the train system that will be covered in the inquiry.

"The lack of care shown over the years by the governments for the Greek train system is the caused this tragic event in the Vale of Tempe. Unfortunately, our continuous requests to hire new staff with a long-term contract, better training but especially the implementation of modern technology for security, were disregarded", states a press release by the POS Union.

The representative of the Fire Department, Giannis Artopioos, declared on public TV that the operation to extract the victims from the train wagons are taking place in very difficult conditions