Officials said this latest derailment came after a retaining wall fell onto the tracks
A commuter train has derailed in Barcelona, claiming the driver’s life and leaving dozens of passengers wounded. mergency responders were required to extract individuals trapped within the carriages.
Today’s (Tuesday) crash has occurred just two days after a catastrophic train collision in southern Spain that resulted in 42 fatalities and numerous injuries. Authorities confirmed this most recent derailment occurred after a retaining wall collapsed onto the railway line.
Regional media reports suggest at least 20 individuals sustained injuries in the incident. The development emerges as the country commenced three days of national mourning today for those who perished in Sunday’s devastating rail disaster.
Two trains – one travelling northbound, the other southbound – carrying almost 500 passengers combined, collided near Adamuz in Spain’s Córdoba province, resulting in widespread carnage and devastation.
Today’s Barcelona incident prompted the deployment of fifteen ambulances and 35 fire brigade units to the crash site, according to Spanish news agency EFE. Emergency responders were required to extract individuals trapped within the carriages.
The collision occurred on a suburban service operating between Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and Gelida, approximately 40 kilometres from Barcelona, during torrential downpours across the area, reports the Mirror.
Sunday’s tragedy struck at 7:45 p. m.
when the rear section of a service carrying 289 passengers travelling from Malaga to Madrid came off the rails and struck an oncoming train bound from Madrid to Huelva, another southern destination, railway operator Adif confirmed.
Amongst the victims of the two-train collision were the mother and father of a young child, who had been returning from the Spanish capital following an evening performance of the Lion King musical on Sunday. Fidel Saez lost his mother in the collision, though his two children, brother and nephew made it through alive.
The family had been returning from watching “The Lion King,” he informed journalists.
“My brother has been taken off respirator. He told me that it was a miracle that he is alive. He had to get the children through a window,” Saez told national TV broadcaster TVE. “He also asked me to tell the story of our mother, how good she was.”
The front section of the Madrid to Huelva train suffered the worst of the collision, derailing its first two carriages and sending them tumbling down an embankment, with victims thrown hundreds of metres from where the trains met, according to Andalusia regional President Juanma Moren.
