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Deadly train disasters in Europe over past 25 years
On 5 October 1999, a crash near London's Paddington station killed 31 and left more than 245 people injured.
This aerial drone photograph taken on March 1, 2023, shows emergency crews searching wreckage after a train accident in the Tempi Valley near Larissa, Greece. (Photo by Vasilis VERVERIDIS / Eurokinissi/motionteam / AFP)
At least 36 people were killed and dozens injured after two trains collided near the northern Greek city of Larissa, in one of Europe’s most deadly recent train disasters.
Here are the most deadly rail accidents in Europe over the past 25 years.
– 1998: Germany, 101 killed –
On June 3, a high-speed train operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn derails in Eschede in Lower Saxony, due to a suspected faulty wheel, killing 101 people and injuring 88. It marks the worst German train accident since 102 people were killed near Munich in 1945.
– 2013: Spain, 80 killed –
On July 24, a train with 222 people on board shoots off the tracks near Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, killing 80 passengers and injuring 140, in Spain’s worst train accident since 1944.
– 2006: Montenegro, 47 killed –
On January 23, a train plunges into a canyon of the River Moraca some 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Montenegro’s capital Podgorica, killing 47 passengers and injuring 234. The driver is found guilty of failing to activate the brake mechanism at a train stop.
– 2010: Ukraine, 45 killed –
On October 12, 45 are killed in a collision between a train and a bus in Marganets, eastern-central Ukraine.
This video is no longer available.
The Ukrainian authorities accuse the bus driver, killed in the accident, of having entered the crossing despite a red light and screams from the passengers.
– 2004: Turkey, 41 killed-
Turkey’s worst rail disaster in recent history comes on July 22, when 41 people are killed and 80 injured after a high-speed train derails in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
– 2003: Hungary, 33 killed –
On May 8, a passenger train and a tourist bus carrying German pensioners collide on a level crossing at Siofok, leaving 33 people dead.
– 2009: Italy, 32 killed –
On June 29, a freight train carrying liquid petroleum gas derails and explodes while transiting through the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio.
This video is no longer available.
The force of the blast brings down two small blocks of flats where many of the 32 victims lived, in Italy’s deadliest rail accident in more than 30 years.
– 1999: England, 31 killed –
On October 5, a crash near London’s Paddington station kills 31 and leaves more than 245 people injured in one of Britain’s worst-ever train tragedies.
