Dio Negro en España. A Dark day for spain Train Crash... Spoiler Tagged

[bart]

A train has derailed in north-western Spain, killing at least 77 of its 218 passengers and injuring more than 100, officials in the Galicia region say.

 

All eight carriages of the Madrid to Ferrol train came off the tracks near the city of Santiago de Compostela.

 

Media reports say the train may have been travelling at more than twice the speed limit around a curve.

 

Officials have not commented on the cause. Analysts say it is the worst train accident in Spain in 40 years.

 

Spain generally has a relatively good record in terms of rail safety, says the BBC's Tom Burridge.

 

 

 

http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/sociedad/video-youtube-primer-impacto-accidente-tren-santiago-galicia-2530815

 

[nancyk58]

^ Yes, I heard about it in the media - it is terrible. It seems the cause was too high speed in a curve!! 190km per hour - more than double speed compared to what it should be in that curve!! So sad.

 

The death toll has been upgraded to at least 78.

 

My thoughts go to everyone affected by this tragedy.

[Coeurli]

I've heard about it as well! This is a very sad, what a tragedy.

[Black Rose]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtcmpyeHwvk]Shocking footage of the Spanish train crash - no comment - YouTube[/ame]

 

Looks like it's going way too fast for that section of track, was it running behind schedule and the driver hoping to make up lost time?

[Coeurli]

Looks like it's going way too fast for that section of track, was it running behind schedule and the driver hoping to make up lost time?

That's what I've heard, yes.

[busybeeburns]

Spain train crash: Driver Garzon declines to give evidence

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o32nxuHshv4]Raw Footage: Spain Train CRASH Near Santiago De Compostela | Accidente Tren en España - YouTube[/ame]

 

Spain train crash: Driver Garzon declines to give evidence

 

The driver of the train that derailed killing 78 people has refused to answer initial questions, Spanish police say.

 

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo - hurt in Wednesday's crash - is under guard in hospital. He is suspected of driving too fast round a bend. Reports say the train was travelling at more than double the speed limit at the time of the crash.

 

The case should now "proceed to a judicial process", the police added. Spain is in three days of mourning. The police chief in the Galicia region, Jaime Iglesias, said earlier that the driver would be questioned "as a suspect for a crime linked to the cause of the accident".

 

No date has been fixed for his appearance before the judge, a spokeswoman for Galicia's High Court, which is leading the investigation, told the AFP news agency. Police also put the confirmed number of deaths at 78 - down from 80 announced earlier.

 

They said the difference arose because human remains had been wrongly identified in the initial stages. At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the accident near the north-western city of Santiago de Compostela, and 95 are still being treated. The 32 seriously injured include children. People from several nationalities are among the wounded, including five Americans and one Briton. One American was among the dead.

 

On Friday one of the first funerals for the dead took place in the small Galician town of Pontecesures. Hundreds of people paid their respects to Antonio Villamarin in the small square next to the town's church as the building itself was full, the BBC's Tom Burridge reports from the town.

 

Mr Villamartin was travelling from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela for a friend's wedding along with his girlfriend, who survived the crash. On Thursday junior transport minister Rafael Catala said early indications suggested the train had been going too fast.

 

The Madrid to Ferrol train's data recording "black box" is now with the judge in charge of the investigation. It is unclear whether anyone else is subject to investigation. The president of railway firm Renfe, Julio Gomez Pomar, was quoted by El Mundo newspaper as saying the 52-year-old driver had 30 years of experience with the company and had been operating trains on the line for more than a year. He said the train which derailed had no technical problems.

 

Renfe said the train came off the tracks about 3 or 4km (2-2.5 miles) from 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 and four crew.

 

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.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23465992

[Darlene_Ihnfsa]

I'm still very sad about that accident. I hope politicians won't use that accident to get any political profit and the investigations will reveal what happened.

RIP.