Three people have been killed and 10 injured when an Intercity train derailed and crashed into a house, exiting on the other side, in northern Greece. Two men – the 44-year-old driver and a passenger aged 50 – died at the scene and a third man, a passenger aged 55, died later.
Two other passengers are in a serious condition following the crash into the three-storey house in the village of Adendro, 25 miles west of the city of Thessaloniki, on Saturday. Train operator Trainose earlier put the number of injured at seven. An intercity train derailed in northern Greece, leaving four passengers dead and five seriously injured, including the driver, the state railway has said.
The train, with 70 passengers, was travelling on the Athens-Thessaloniki route when it went off the rails and crashed through a house by the village of Adendro, 25 miles west of Thessaloniki, on Saturday night.
“I was sitting on my porch. I saw a flash and immediately heard a terrible explosion,” Giorgos Mylonas, 78, told The Associated Press.
“Then I saw the train enter (a nearby) house and heard the two Albanians who live there scream for help.”
One of the three-storey house’s two tenants said he and his friend jumped from the balcony. “We heard a terrible explosion and we were very scared,” said Mir, 26, who only gave his first name. The train’s engine went right through the house, whose bottom floor is storage space. The house is now tilting.
A local official, Mavroudis Mintsioudis, said: “The whole house is now leaning on the train, which shows you how severe the crash was.” Emergency workers, along with two dozen fire trucks and many ambulances, were on the scene. Police would not let anyone get close, but a dog sniffing through the wreck could be seen alongside firefighters.
