International Desk: At least 36 people were killed and 66 others injured after a head-on collision between two trains in Greece on Tuesday, local authorities said.

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A passenger train travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided with a cargo train outside the city of Larissa in central Greece.

At least 66 people were injured in the crash, including six in intensive care, while about 250 passengers, some with minor injuries, were evacuated safely by bus to Thessaloniki, about 130km (80 miles) away.

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Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors.

The first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed in the crash, with the first two carriages, which caught fire, “almost completely destroyed”, Agorastos said.

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“We heard a big bang, (it was) 10 nightmarish seconds,” said Stergios Minenis, a 28-year-old passenger who jumped to safety from the wreckage.

Country's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office announced a three-day national mourning period, adding that he was on his way to the site of the accident.

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Meanwhile, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said she was cutting short a visit to Moldova to return to Greece.

Sun News/MR

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