Surveillance cameras captured the horrific moment two trains slammed into each other in Greece, killing 57 people and injuring dozens more.
The dramatic footage shows one of the two trains traveling through Tempe on Tuesday just before midnight, when suddenly there’s a flash of light followed by a massive explosion. The impact caused multiple cars to derail and at least three to burst into flames.
Search teams and rescue crews continued to comb through the mangled locomotive cars on Thursday. Officials warned the death toll would likely climb as their efforts continued through the end of the week.
So far, 57 people have been confirmed dead, and many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. As a result, dozens of grieving relatives have spent the last few days at a Larissa hospital awaiting the results of DNA identification on the remains.
The collision of the passenger and freight trains earlier this week marked the country’s deadliest ever. More than 48 people remained hospitalized, including six in intensive care.
More than 300 people were onboard the passenger train at the time of the collision. Many were students on their way home from Greece’s raucous Carnival, a three-day celebration held in full for the first time this year since the pandemic struck in in 2020.
It’s still not exactly clear how both trains ended up on the same track near the Vale of Tempe — a river valley about 235 miles outside of Athens — but officials have blamed human error. A railway worker, who is in charge of a station in central Greece, has reportedly accepted “responsibility” for the crash. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter on Tuesday.