Madrid [Spain], January 20: At least 40 people have died following a high-speed train crash in southern Spain, the regional authorities reported on Monday, with the death toll expected to rise further as the recovery operation proceeds.
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, said he could not rule out the possibility of further bodies being found in the "pile of broken metal." More than 170 passengers were injured, 24 of them seriously and five of those extremely seriously, the authorities said. National broadcaster RTVE said four of those seriously hurt were minors.
Ascertaining the cause of the accident is expected to take months. Numerous passengers remained trapped in the trains hours after the crash. Fire chief Paco Carmona described a difficult operation: "It is a hard-to-reach area. The extent of the destruction was also great. Chaos, open fractures. Anything but pleasant."
The two high-speed trains collided at around 7.40pm (1840 GMT) on Sunday near the town of Adamuz in the Andalusian province of Cordoba, Spanish rail operator Renfe said. The Renfe train driver was among those killed.
An Iryo train, travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour and carrying more than 300 people, derailed and came to rest on the adjacent track, Renfe said. An oncoming Renfe train with about 200 onboard was passing at that precise moment, smashing into the Iryo train and also derailing.
The Iryo train was operated by the Italian company Trenitalia. "The impact was so severe that the two front carriages of the Renfe train were thrown off the tracks as a result," said Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente.
Service on the key route between Madrid and Andalusia was suspended.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised swift assistance, cancelled all appointments, and set off from Madrid to the site of the disaster where he announced a three-day national mourning period from Tuesday to Thursday.
He vowed that they would "bring the truth to light" about the cause of the accident.
Wearing a yellow safety vest from the rail network operator Adif, the Socialist politician spoke again - as he had earlier on platform X - of a "night of deep sorrow" for the country. The government announced that Sanchez would not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday as planned.
Source: Qatar Tribune