A passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece early on Wednesday, causing fires and leaving dozens injured, police and Fire Service officials said.

Multiple train cars derailed and at least three caught fire after the crash near Tempe, some 380km north of Athens. Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 60 people had been hurt, 25 seriously.Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after the collision. Photo / Supplied

“It was a very powerful collision. This is a terrible night ... It’s hard to describe the scene,” Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the central Thessaly area, told state-run television.

Ambulances arrived from several nearby towns to help transport injured passengers.

Rescuers wearing headlamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled sheet metal from the crashed rail cars to search for trapped people.

Government officials said the army has been contacted to assist in the rescue and that two additional hospitals in Larissa had been placed in emergency duty.