At least 79 people are dead and 36 more are in serious condition after a high-speed train derailed in Spain as it was entering the northwestern Galicia city of Santiago de Compostela at the beginning of a religious holiday weekend
Rescue operations were ongoing more than 12 hours after the Wednesday evening accident, which occurred about 2.5 miles from the main Santiago station. All eight passenger cars of the Madrid-Galicia train, carrying 226 people, went off the tracks. At least 130 people were injured, 95 of whom are still being treated. Of the seriously injured, four are children, authorities said.
The devastating accident is also the first for Spain’s much admired high-speed system, the longest in Europe and third largest in the world after China and Japan, with a network of more than 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). President Barack Obama at one point suggested it was a model for US high-speed rail plans. The trains can travel at 330 km/hour (nearly 200 miles per hour), and the web is spread throughout the country. The high-speed tracks connecting Ourense and Santiago, where the accident occurred, and its eight-car, two-locomotive line started operating in June 2012.
Terrorism and sabotage were ruled out almost immediately. Authorities are investigating whether speed was to blame.
Spanish media reported a radio exchange with one of the conductors, a veteran with 13 years on the job, immediately after the accident. In it he reportedly admitted traveling at 190 kilometers per hour (118 miles per hour) in a narrow curve where the speed limit is 80 k.m.h. (50 m.p.h.). A judge has already summoned him to testify, though he has not been charged with any crime
It’s the worst rail accident in Spain in more than 40 yearsThe devastating accident is also the first for Spain’s much admired high-speed system, the longest in Europe and third largest in the world after China and Japan, with a network of more than 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). President Barack Obama at one point suggested it was a model for US high-speed rail plans. The trains can travel at 330 km/hour (nearly 200 miles per hour), and the web is spread throughout the country. The high-speed tracks connecting Ourense and Santiago, where the accident occurred, and its eight-car, two-locomotive line started operating in June 2012.
Terrorism and sabotage were ruled out almost immediately. Authorities are investigating whether speed was to blame.
Spanish media reported a radio exchange with one of the conductors, a veteran with 13 years on the job, immediately after the accident. In it he reportedly admitted traveling at 190 kilometers per hour (118 miles per hour) in a narrow curve where the speed limit is 80 k.m.h. (50 m.p.h.). A judge has already summoned him to testify, though he has not been charged with any crime and in Europe since 2000.