57 people confirmed dead in Greece train crash as public anger grows

Eleni Zaggelidou, one of ten coroners working on the investigation, said DNA had been taken from 57 intact bodies.

A government minister said austerity during Greece’s economic crisis in the 2000s had contributed to a lack of investment in the railways. Rail workers held a one-day strike on Thursday following the disaster, blaming government neglect and more than 2,000 people protested for a second day in Athens and Thessaloniki, shocked by the disaster near the city of Larissa. The railway workers’ strike began at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT), hitting national rail services and the subway in Athens.

Rescue workers are still going through burned and buckled carriages, searching for victims.

A passenger service carrying 350 people collided with a freight train just before midnight on Tuesday after they ended up on the same track – causing the front carriages to burst into flames.