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At least 36 people were killed when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train near the Vale of Tempe in Greece just before midnight on Tuesday (February 28). In addition, dozens of people were injured, and at least 66 were transported to the hospital.
There were 350 passengers on the train, including many students who were returning from Greece's three-day Carnival festival.
The collision caused multiple cars to derail and three to burst into flames.
While it is unknown how fast the trains were going at the time, the force of the crash sent some passengers flying through the train's glass windows. Rescuers said they found some victims over 100 feet from the crash site.
"The glass in the windows shattered and fell on top of us," passenger Stefanos Gogakos told local news outlet ERT, according to Yahoo News. "My head hit the roof of the carriage with the jolt. Some people started to climb out through the windows because there was smoke in the carriage. The doors were closed, but in a few minutes, train staff opened them, and we got out."
Investigators have not determined what caused the head-on collision.
"I can guarantee one thing: We will find out the causes of this tragedy, and we will do all that's in our power so that something like this never happens again," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Officials have arrested a 59-year-old station manager of a train station in the nearby city of Larissa. He was not identified, and it is unclear what charges he is facing.
Following the deadly crash, Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced that he was resigning from his position.