At least 29 dead, 85 injured as trains collide in Greece

    (CNN) -- Rescue workers are in a desperate search for survivors after a head-on collision between two trains in northern Greece killed dozens of people and injured scores.

At least 29 people were killed and more than 85 injured when a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train on Tuesday evening, shortly before midnight, in Tempi, central Greece, near the city of Larissa, the Greek Fire Service said.

"We just heard a bang... the (train) car started spinning, before ending up sideways when we managed to exit," one male passenger told Greek public broadcaster ERT.

"It was 10 nightmarish seconds with fire, you couldn't see much from the smoke," said a second passenger.

Recovery efforts are underway and the death toll is expected to rise, the Greek Fire Service said.

The trains had been traveling from the capital Athens to Thessaloniki, a Greek city renowned for its festivals and vibrant cultural life.

Images on Greece's state-owned public broadcaster ERT showed plumes of thick smoke pouring out of toppled and mangled train cars. Long lines of rescue vehicles could be seen next to the derailed carriages.

Meanwhile, rescue workers with torches searched carriages for survivors.

The images also showed some surviving passengers arriving in Thessaloniki.

In a televised briefing, Greek Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis said that the passenger train had been carrying 350 people.

At least 150 firefighters with 17 vehicles and 40 ambulances are involved in the rescue operation, Varthakogiannis added.

The Greek railway company, Hellenic Train, said in a press release that there was "a head-on collision between two trains: a freight train and train IC 62 which had departed from Athens to Thessaloniki."

Authorities said it is still not clear what led to the collision.