TEMPE, Greece -- Rescuers searched late into the night Wednesday for survivors amid the mangled, burned-out wrecks of two trains that collided in northern Greece, killing at least 43 people and crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots in the country's deadliest rail crash.
The impact just before midnight Tuesday threw some passengers into ceilings and out the windows.
"My head hit the roof of the carriage with the jolt," Stefanos Gogakos, who was in a rear car, told state broadcaster ERT. He said windows shattered, showering riders with glass.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the collision of the passenger train and a freight train "a horrific rail accident without precedent in our country," and pledged a full, independent investigation.
He said it appeared the crash was "mainly due to a tragic human error," but did not elaborate.
The train from Athens to Thessaloniki was carrying 350 passengers, many of them students returning from raucous Carnival celebrations. While the track is double, both trains were traveling in opposite directions on the same line near the Vale of Tempe, a river valley about 235 miles north of Athens.
Authorities arrested the stationmaster at the train's last stop, in the city of Larissa. They did not release the man's name or the reason for the arrest, but the stationmaster is responsible for rail traffic on that stretch of the tracks. He was due to appear before a prosecutor today to be formally charged.
Transportation Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned, saying he was stepping down "as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly."
The union representing train workers announced a 24-hour strike for today, while protests by left-wing groups broke out in Athens late Wednesday. Athens metro workers also called a 24-hour strike for today, saying they face similar problems as railway employees.
Greece's firefighting service said 57 people remained hospitalized late Wednesday, including six in intensive care. More than 15 others were discharged after receiving treatment.
More than 200 people who were unharmed or suffered minor injuries were taken by bus to Thessaloniki, 80 miles to the north. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing.
Eight rail employees were among the dead, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train, according to Yannis Nitsas, president of the Greek Railroad Workers Union.
The union called the one-day strike to protest what it said was chronic neglect of Greece's railways by successive governments.
The government declared three days of national mourning from Wednesday, while flags flew at half-staff outside all European Commission buildings in Brussels.
It was the country's deadliest rail crash on record. In 1968, 34 people died in a crash in the southern Peloponnese region.
Information for this article was contributed by Derek Gatopoulos, Patrick Quinn and David Rising of The Associated Press.
Firefighters collect bodies after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (George Kidonas/InTime News via AP)
Protesters carry a black banner in front of the Greek Parliament, in Athens, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Several hundred left-wing protesters marched through the city center to protest the deaths of dozens of people late Tuesday, in Greece's worst recorded rail accident. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Protesters try to avoid tear gas thrown by riot police in front of the Greek Parliament, in Athens, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Several hundred left-wing protesters marched through the city center to protest the deaths of dozens of people late Tuesday, in Greece's worst recorded rail accident. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
The flag on the Acropolis hill flies at half-staff in Athens, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 after three days of national mourning declared for the victims of the deadly train collision in Tempe. A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train flattened carriages, killing and injured dozens of passengers. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis visits the location of a collision in Tempe, about 376 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Karamanlis resigned Wednesday, saying he felt it was his "duty" to step down. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, has collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train. (George Kidonas/InTime News via AP)
A firefighter searches inside a train after a collision in Tempe, about 376 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Rescuers searched Wednesday through the burned-out wreckage of two trains that slammed into each other in northern Greece, killing and injured dozens of passengers. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
In this photo provided by the Greek Prime Minister's Office, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, second right, accompanied by Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis, left, holding his face, looks the debris of trains after a collision in Tempe, about 376 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, has collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train. (Dimitris Papamitsos/Greek Prime Minister's Office via AP)
Cars from a passenger train and a freight train lie amid debris Wednesday after they collided on the same tracks late Tuesday in Tempe, Greece. At least 43 people were killed in what Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called “a horrific rail accident without precedent in our country.” Mitsotakis said human error appears to be the cause. More photos at arkansasonline.com/32greece23/. (AP/Giannis Papanikos)Gallery: Dozens killed in Greek train accident
