Two deaths as train derails near Thessaloniki

An express train carrying 70 passengers from Athens to Thessaloniki derailed in northern Greece on Saturday night, killing two people and leaving several others seriously injured. The driver was among those injured, according to Greek rail company Trainose.

Trainose had previously reported four deaths.

The train came off the rails and crashed through a house near the village of Adendro, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, but regional official Voula Patoulidou told the Associated Press that the train may have traveled too fast on that part of the track.

A senior national railway official at the crash site told Agence France-Presse that there were no previous issues or incidents reported on that part of he track. Search and rescue operations were suspended late in the evening.

'Death came calling'

Local resident Yorgos Mylonas told Athens News Agency that "death came calling."

"I heard a strange noise and then I saw the train approaching and ramming into my neighbor's house," said Mylonas.

The house that was hit is now tilting on top of the train, "which shows you how severe the crash was," according to local official Mavroudis Mintsioudis. Locals reported tenants in the building had to jump out of the building to safety.

"We heard a terrible explosion and we were very scared," Mir, who only gave his first name, told AP. Mir is a tenant in the building.

kbd/cmk (AFP, AP, Reuters)