Dozens of passengers were trapped for an extended period after a person attempted suicide on the Evangelismos metro tracks earlier this Sunday.
As reported by the Fire Department, firefighters rescued the injured man, who was later taken by ambulance (EKAB).
With metro services disrupted, passengers were left trapped inside the immobilized train in complete darkness for over an hour, with the only announcement made in Greek — despite the train arriving from the airport and carrying many tourists unfamiliar with the language.
Afterward, passengers were instructed to evacuate by walking through the tunnel alongside the tracks.
One passenger spoke to MEGA channel’s show “Exelixeis Tora” (“Developments Now”) about the ordeal:
“After we left Katechaki station, at some point the train stopped inside the tunnel, the lights went out, and we were informed it wasn’t anything serious. The driver made an announcement in Greek, saying there would be a delay. There were tourists with us, asking what was happening, and we tried to explain as best we could.”
“We waited — about 20 minutes passed — then we were told there would be another slight delay and that we should stay put. But honestly, where could we have gone, stuck inside a train underground? There was no clear communication; we ended up trapped inside for about an hour.”
“Eventually, we saw people starting to move, so we followed them. We had to walk through the train and then along the tracks to reach the next station, carrying our luggage, and there were also families with strollers and small children.”
“Many of the slabs along the path were broken or unstable, making it difficult and dangerous to walk. There were gaps between them, and in some places, there was no lighting at all — I had to use my phone’s flashlight just to see where I was going. The situation was truly appalling.”
For its part the Athens Urban Rail Station (STASY) issued the following announcement on the incident:
“As a result of the suicide attempt incident at Evangelismos station, and in order to allow the partial resumption of service on Metro Line 3, a reversal of trains between the Katechaki and Panormou section was carried out in accordance with the prescribed operational procedures.
During the reversal procedure, one of the trains experienced a power outage, and some passengers activated the emergency door release levers.
Following STASY’s safety protocols, operating personnel immediately cut off power supply to that section of the line and proceeded to evacuate the train towards Panormou station.
The evacuation was completed under the supervision of the driver and the stationmaster, in strict adherence to the safety protocol.”
