Shocking moments were experienced by rescuers who were called to the scene of a collision of two trains in Tempe which led to the death and injury of dozens of our brothers.

The leaders of the Greek rescue team, who arrived at the scene of the tragedy from the first moment, shared with “K” the images they saw, which, according to them, will never be erased from their memory.

“What we’re facing is indescribable”

“At 12.00 we were notified by civil protection, and in half an hour we were at the scene. When we got there, we saw that people from EKAV were taking out the wounded. There was an immediate mobilization of the state apparatus. What we encountered at the scene of the accident is not reported. Bombed landscape,” described Mr. Yiannis Xanthopoulos, a member of the Greek rescue team of Larissa.

He then remarked very excitedly that what shocked him most was that most of the bodies being recovered were of young men. “The bodies were found all the time. Bodies, irons, plastic, chairs, bags, everything is a mess. This is the worst mission I have ever been on. There were many new children. We felt that we were taking our children out,” he concluded in shock.

“We are talking about an amorphous mass of iron”

The description of Mr. Sotiris Papamarkakis, a member of the Greek Magnesia Rescue Team, went along the same lines. Mr. Papamarkakis, speaking at cathimerini.gr from the scene of the tragedy, he spoke about situations that he had never encountered before.

“I worked on the railroad for 30 years as a train master. I have seen other accidents. I’ve never seen this before. We are talking about an amorphous mass of ferrous metals,” he noted excitedly.

“The search is progressing slowly, as heavy equipment is required to create passages and bring rescuers. Due to the large number of irons, this is only done with heavy machinery and the process takes time. We are talking about a nightmare,” he stressed.