In the wake of a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in Greece that killed and injured dozens, Pope Francis has offered prayers for the lost souls.

“These past days, my thought has been often gone to the victims of the train accident that happened in Greece,” the pontiff tweeted this week. “Many were young students. I am praying for the deceased. I am near the wounded and their relatives. May Our Lady comfort them.”

At least 57 people were killed and 85 others were injured in a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train near the town of Tempe in northern Greece, a recent BBC report said. The collision occurred just before midnight on Feb. 28, causing multiple cars to derail and burst into flames.

Rescuers searched through the wreckage for survivors, and many of the passengers on one train were students returning from Greece's Carnival festival, which usually happens right before the start of Lent every year, NPR reported. The festival had not been celebrated in full since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Many protests have occurred in the country in the aftermath of the collision, NPR said. Hundreds of individuals have marched and train workers initiated a strike on Thursday to bring attention to the longstanding disregard for the safety of country's railways.

Greece's railways have long been plagued by chronic mismanagement, including extravagant spending on projects that were subsequently abandoned or considerably delayed, the Associated Press reported.

A stationmaster who reportedly guided the two trains moving toward each other onto a single track, resulting in the collision, has been charged with negligent homicide; the AP said. He reportedly testified for 7 1/2 hours recently regarding the incident before being charged and detained. The automatic signaling system in the crash area was not working correctly, allowing the stationmaster's error to occur.