Greece train hits house after derailing, leaving two dead

A train, travelling from Athens, struck a house when it left the track near the city of Thessaloniki.

A resident at the property said he managed to jump from a balcony just before the train made sudden impact.

The train was carrying around 70 passengers, most of whom were safely evacuated within three hours of the accident on Saturday night, according to latest reports.

The accident happened some 40km (25 miles) from Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city.

A senior national railway official who visited the crash site said there had been no reports of problems on that stretch of railway before the incident, AFP news agency reports.

Police said that the cause of the crash had yet to be determined. The state-owned railway company Trainose said it had opened an investigation.