57 people were killed and at least 80 more people were injured when two trains collided due to what was mainly considered human error. 

The crash occurred just before midnight on March 1 in Tempi, Greece when a freight and passenger train collided. Neither train had enough time to stop. The fire service in Greece said that the passenger car was going 103 mph at the time of collision. 

On Wednesday, March 1, the Prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said that the crash was “mainly due to tragic human error.” However, he has not elaborated on what this human error was specifically. 

There were about 150 firefighters on the scene of the crash, and it took them until Thursday to get everyone out of the cars. The majority of their efforts were employed upon the first two cars – which had overturned – making it more difficult to extract the passengers. 

Due to the fact that the collision had started multiple fires in different cars along the train tracks, it has been extremely difficult to identify the bodies of those inside; many families have been left wondering where their loved ones are. 

According to the Tempi police department, a 59-year-old has been arrested in connection to the ongoing investigation regarding this deadly crash. The Greek government has since apologized for this, and has declared three days of national mourning as a result of this tragedy. 

The U.S. Department of State spokesperson, Ned Price, offered his condolences to Greece in a press conference on Wednesday night. 

“As we continue to see the death toll rise, I want to offer our sincere condolences to the people of Greece for the tragic loss of life in the train collision that happened overnight in the town of Tempi,” Price said. He also thanked all of the firefighters who helped during this tragedy. 

The Greek transport minister, Kostas Karamanlis, resigned on Wednesday shortly after visiting the crash site. He said it felt like it was his duty to do so out of respect for the victims’ families.  

“When something this tragic happens, it is impossible to go on as if it didn’t happen,” Karamanlis wrote in a post on Facebook. “This is called political responsibility.”  

Mitsotakis had to rush to find an interim transportation minister, as Karamanlis didn’t give much notice before resigning.

Additionally, Mitsotakis said that two rail executives have resigned as a result of the crash, and Greece is left struggling with the aftermath of this accident and the subsequent loss of personnel.