Video from security cameras shows the moment the train derailed
King
Juan Carlos has said all Spanish people feel the pain of the families
of the 80 people killed in a high-speed train crash in north-western
Spain.
The king was speaking on a visit to the dozens of
hospitalised survivors in Santiago de Compostela, near to where the
train derailed on Wednesday night.PM Mariano Rajoy, who hails from the city of the crash, declared three days of official mourning on Thursday.
One of the train drivers is under formal investigation, officials say.
The driver, named by Spanish media as Francisco Jose Garzon Amo, was lightly injured and will be questioned by police in hospital, the Galicia Supreme Court said in a statement.
Spain's national train operator Renfe said it was too early to say what caused the train to derail. However, survivor accounts and media reports suggest the train was travelling at excessive speed as it hit a curve in the track .
Footage captured by a security camera shows the train crashing as it hurtled round a bend.
Continue reading the main story
Trackside camera shows train derail
Passengers describe crash
Carriages reveal horror
'Saddest anniversary' - PM
'There were people lying everywhere'
Driver 'admitted to going too fast'
King Juan Carlos and his wife Queen
Sofia visited survivors and the families of victims at Santiago's
University Hospital on Thursday.
"All Spanish people join in the sorrow of the relatives of
the deceased," he said, praising what he called the spirit of
citizenship shown by rescue workers and blood donors.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was at the scene of the crash on Thursday.
"For a native of Santiago like me, this is the saddest day," he said.
At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the crash, and 94 are still being treated, health officials say.
Thirty-two people are seriously injured, including children.
People from several nationalities are among the wounded, including five Americans and one Briton. One American was among the dead.
Continue reading the main story
At least 80 people have been killed and dozens injured after a train derailed in the Galicia region of Spain
The moment the train derailed was
captured by a trackside security camera - the train was travelling from
Madrid to Ferrol when it derailed near the city of Santiago de
Compostela
Regional government leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo described the scene as "Dante-esque"
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who visited the crash site, has declared three days of national mourning
All of the train's eight carriages have been removed by crane and sent off for analysis
Relatives of passengers have had an anxious wait for news of their loves ones
The train's driver remains under surveillance in hospital and will be questioned by police
The Madrid to Ferrol train's data recording "black box" is now with the judge in charge of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the train's carriages have been removed from the track by cranes and sent for analysis.
Elena Regueiro, survivor: "I was covered by seats and luggage and bodies"
He said the train which derailed had no technical problems.
"The train had passed an inspection that same morning. Those trains are inspected every 7,500km... Its maintenance record was perfect," he told Spanish radio.
But Mr Garzon, who was trapped in the cab after the accident, is quoted as saying moments after the crash that the train had taken the curve at 190 km/h (120mph) despite a speed limit on that section of 80km/h.
Continue reading the main story
Spanish train crashes
- August 2006: Inter-city train derails in Villada, in the province of Palencia, killing six people and injuring dozens more
- July 2006: At least 43 people killed in a metro train crash in the Valencia area
- 1972: Andalusia crash leaves between 76 and 86 people dead.
- 1944: Hundreds believed dead after a crash in Torre del Bierzo, in Leon province - official account gave the figure as 78 killed.
If this is the case, it remains to be seen whether a systems failure or driver error was the cause, correspondents say.
Spain has invested huge amounts of money in its rail network
and has a relatively good safety record, says the BBC's Tom Burridge in
Madrid. According to official figures, the crash is one of the worst rail disasters in Spanish history.
Renfe said the train came off the tracks a few kilometres before Santiago de Compostela station at 20:41 local time (18:41 GMT) on Wednesday.
It was on the express route between the capital, Madrid, and the port city of Ferrol on the Galician coast, with 218 passengers on board - in addition to an unknown number of staff and crew.
Witnesses to the crash described seeing carriages "piled on top of one another" after the train hit a curve.
The derailment happened on the eve of Santiago de Compostela's main annual festival where thousands of Christian pilgrims were expected to flock to the city in honour of St James.
The local tourism board cancelled all festivities as the city went into mourning.
No comments :
Post a Comment