Dozens killed after two trains collide in Greece

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If you're just joining us - we still await clarity as to what caused last night's head-on collision in Greece between a passenger train and a freight train.

The incident occurred as a passenger train emerged from a tunnel, on its way from Athens to Thessaloniki.

The regional governor says the two services were running on the same track.

Greek public broadcaster ERT reports that police have been speaking to a local station master - and prosecutors will decide whether or not he will be arrested.

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A train crash survivor has described the scenes after the crash as "chaotic".

The man told reporters gathered at Thessaloniki station: "All I personally remember is feeling a very strong braking and suddenly, I see sparks and flames on the sides of the windows.

"And then a sudden stop. This made us all panic and we just wanted to get out as soon as possible so we tried to break the window glass.

"Some guys who were near windows, we broke them, we got out. It was a chaotic situation in front of us."

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The President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, has cut short an official visit to Moldova to visit the site of the crash.

"Unfortunately, I have to interrupt my visit in order to be close to my people, to support those who need it," Reuters news agency quoted the president.

She said "a life-saving operation" is ongoing on "to help those who are on this death train".

At least 36 people have died and dozens more were injured in the collision between two trains near the city of Larissa last night.

The Hellenic Red Cross says it is organising emergency blood donation in the central square of Larissa, the city near to where the collision happened.

This is being done in collaboration with two local hospitals in order to help those who were injured in the crash.

Red Cross volunteers have been among those at the scene helping to transport the dead and injured.

They have also been providing psychological support for victims’ families.

For those who'd like to understand the area where the crash happened, we have produced a more detailed map of the area in northern Greece where the tragedy occurred.

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The collision took place in the municipality of Tempi, around 15 miles (24km) from the city of Larissa, with the railway line in question running alongside farmland and the Pineios River to the west and the foothills of Mount Ossa to the east.

A Greek journalist has told the BBC "nothing has been left from the first two carriages" following the crash.

Marina Rigou said: "The rescue teams are trying to move the wreckages of the carriages from the tracks, but it's very difficult.

"The collision was so severe that the two first carriages just disappeared.

"The mayor of the city near the incident said nothing has been left from the first two carriages."

She said the Thessaloniki regional government told local media the two trains were travelling at great speed because they didn't know that the other was coming.

"So, the impact was really severe," she added.

The prime minister of Greece says the country will enter a three day period of mourning.

All public celebrations have been cancelled and flags on public buildings will fly at half mast until Friday.

The passenger train involved in the crash was around two-thirds full with many young people, the Reuters news agency reports, citing people it's been speaking to at the scene.

About 350 people are believed to have been on board.

Thessaloniki - where that train was heading - has a sizeable student population, and it's believed many would have been returning there after a holiday for Greek Orthodox lent.

Reuters quotes a woman saying "my child is not picking up the phone" as she anxiously waited at a railway station in Thessaloniki.

The city's student associations are calling for a full investigation with no "cover-up", according to local media.

A short time ago, we told you cranes were involved in the search operation. The latest images from Reuters give a sense of how they are being used to lift pieces of wreckage.

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Survivors of the deadly crash have been speaking to local media.

According to one shaken passenger interviewed on Skai television, "the windows suddenly exploded" and "people were screaming and were afraid".

They added: "Fortunately, we were able to open the doors and escape fairly quickly. In other wagons, they did not manage to get out, and one wagon even caught fire."

Another passenger named Lazos told the newspaper Protothema: "I wasn't hurt, but I was stained with blood from other people who were injured near me."

• Read more here

Head here for our picture gallery with some of the most striking shots following the disaster in Greece.

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We've just been reading further updates from the Greek authorities, published on the website of the fire service.

As well as updating the death toll to 36, they say:

• Sixty-six people have been injured, of whom six are in intensive care
• A search operation is ongoing, with rescuers focused on the first three carriages of the passenger train
• The operation is involving 150 firefighters, using 17 vehicles and four cranes. Thirty ambulances are on the scene
• Police describe it as a "tragic train accident" and say investigators from Athens and Thessaloniki have been dispatched to assist local authorities

Greek authorities have provided another update on the rail crash - saying at least 36 people are now known to have died.

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A journalist has told the BBC how crash survivors had to break windows to escape the train.

Greek reporter Alexia Kalaitzi, who spent the night in Thessaloniki talking to survivors, said: "We spoke to many young people who were in utter shock.

"One man, around 20-years-old, told us he thought he could die because he heard a bang and then he felt the whole train car going sideways and the whole thing collapsed.

"He had to escape through a hole.

"Other people described they had to use their luggage in order to smash the window and escape the train car.

"They saw the first two carriages on fire and smoke everywhere, and people were panicked and there was screaming."

She said most of the people she spoke to were students returning from holidays.

"The worst part was the parents who were waiting there at the train station in Thessaloniki for their children and they could not find them," she added.

Emergency services worked through the evening to free survivors from the wreckage of the train crash.

At least 32 people have died and dozens of others have been injured, according to the fire brigade.

We have been speaking to some of the people who were evacuated.

They’ve been describing having to escape these carriages.

They were crawling through windows, crawling over broken glass.

A number of them described carriages on fire with people unable to escape.

This is being described as the worst train crash Greece has ever seen.

The head of a railway union has told local media he isn't sure how the accident could have happened.

Yannis Ditsas, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Railway Workers, told ERT despite 40 years of experience, he cannot say whether the mistake was made on the ground or on the train.

He added the only consolation was that the crash did not happen inside tunnels nearby.

The governor of the Thessaly region, where the train crash took place, has told local media the two trains collided on the same track, according to Reuters news agency.

Konstantinos Agorastos told Skai TV the crash happened at high speed between a cargo train and an intercity passenger train outside the city of Larissa in central Greece.

The intercity passenger train had been travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki, he said.

The regional governor explained the first four carriages of the passenger train were derailed in the crash. He said the first two carriages were "almost completely destroyed" after catching fire.

"They were travelling at great speed and one (driver) didn't know the other was coming," Agorastos said.

Drone footage sent from near Larissa shows a smoking wreckage after the deadly rail collision - with the emergency services at the scene.