Horrific train crash in Spain

http://news.sky.com/story/1120030/train-crash-in-spain-at-least-20-killed

Train Crash In Spain: 'At Least 20 Killed'
Witnesses describe the horrific sight of bodies on the tracks after carriages reportedly carrying 240 people derailed.



The number of people dead after a train derailed in Spain has risen to at least 35, according to reports.

Dozens are said to be injured and emergency services are attempting to rescue several people still trapped inside carriages.

Spanish newspapers said the crash happened as the train pulled into the city of Santiago de Compostela, a popular place of pilgrimage in the northwestern region of Galicia.

The head of the region said at least 35 people had been killed and that it was too soon to say what had caused the derailment.

Pictures taken at the scene show several carriages which had rolled over, with flames and smoke seen rising from the front carriage.

El Pais newspaper said 24 bodies were seen covered with blankets. It reports the train was busy, with some 240 passengers on board.

One passenger, Ricardo Montesco, told Cadena Ser radio station: "It was going so quickly ... It seems that on a curve the train started to twist and the wagons piled up one on top of the other.

"A lot of people were squashed on the bottom.

"We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realised the train was burning ... I was in the second wagon and there was fire ... I saw corpses."

A witness told the station they heard an explosion before seeing the derailed train. Another witness told the Radio Galega station: "There are many people dead here, my God."

Bill Bond, a journalist in Spain, told Sky News there were reports of at least 50 injured people.

Spanish state television said eight carriages had derailed and the train was travelling from Madrid to the port city of Ferrol.

It happened at about 8.40pm local time - 7.40pm UK time - on a bend a short distance from a scheduled stop in the city.

More follows..

Poor souls.  

That is totally horrendous.   

There was mention that the train was travelling about twice the safe speed around the bend as the train was 5 minutes late. Whether or not that is the cause, I don't know.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/25/spain-train-crash-dead

..........There were some 247 people on board the train, which was travelling from Madrid to the Galician port of Ferrol. The train jumped the tracks on what officials described as "a difficult curve" on the outskirts of Santiago. At least six carriages were derailed.

"The train started flipping over, over and over, and carriages ended up on top of others," one passenger said.

Another said: "It was going so quickly. It seems that on a curve the train started to twist, and the wagons piled up one on top of the other."

Passenger Ricardo Montesco told Cadena Ser radio station: "A lot of people were squashed on the bottom. We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realised the train was burning ... I was in the second wagon and there was fire ... I saw corpses."

One witness near the scene told the radio station she heard an explosion before seeing the derailed train.

El Pais newspaper cited sources close to the investigation as saying the train was travelling at more than twice the speed limit on a sharp curve. The recommended speed is 80km an hour (50mph), and sources suggest the train was travelling as fast as 180km an hour.

Poor people......

Spain Rail Crash: Train 'Travelling Too Fast'
Carriages flipped over before landing on top of each other killing at least 77 people as the train reached a bend in the line.

More at:

http://news.sky.com/story/1120154/spain-rail-crash-train-travelling-too-fast

Ghastly.

This is a pretty comprehensive report:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377113/Spain-train-crash-At-77-people-killed-130-injured-Santiago-Compostela-derailment.html

but be warned, some of the photos are upsetting, as is the CCTV of the actual crash which is now online.

The Spanish emergency services, and local people, seem to have worked miracles in rescuing and aiding injured survivors.

Horrendous for all of them.  

the driver of the train should be punished hard.

bb1 wrote:http://news.sky.com/story/1120030/train-crash-in-spain-at-least-20-killed

Train Crash In Spain: 'At Least 20 Killed'
Witnesses describe the horrific sight of bodies on the tracks after carriages reportedly carrying 240 people derailed.



The number of people dead after a train derailed in Spain has risen to at least 35, according to reports.

Dozens are said to be injured and emergency services are attempting to rescue several people still trapped inside carriages.

Spanish newspapers said the crash happened as the train pulled into the city of Santiago de Compostela, a popular place of pilgrimage in the northwestern region of Galicia.

The head of the region said at least 35 people had been killed and that it was too soon to say what had caused the derailment.

Pictures taken at the scene show several carriages which had rolled over, with flames and smoke seen rising from the front carriage.

El Pais newspaper said 24 bodies were seen covered with blankets. It reports the train was busy, with some 240 passengers on board.

One passenger, Ricardo Montesco, told Cadena Ser radio station: "It was going so quickly ... It seems that on a curve the train started to twist and the wagons piled up one on top of the other.

"A lot of people were squashed on the bottom.

"We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realised the train was burning ... I was in the second wagon and there was fire ... I saw corpses."

A witness told the station they heard an explosion before seeing the derailed train. Another witness told the Radio Galega station: "There are many people dead here, my God."

Bill Bond, a journalist in Spain, told Sky News there were reports of at least 50 injured people.

Spanish state television said eight carriages had derailed and the train was travelling from Madrid to the port city of Ferrol.

It happened at about 8.40pm local time - 7.40pm UK time - on a bend a short distance from a scheduled stop in the city.

More follows..

Poor souls.  

This photograph is arse about face. Someone has turned it around. Not good.

There has been a head on collision is Switzerland between two commuter trains. About 40 injured, just come over on the BBC News LL

Here's hoping it doesn't get any worse, right after Spain, and the Italian bus crash.

For F**cks sake, what are you trying to do to me? Train crashes I do not need.

http://news.sky.com/story/1122326/spain-train-crash-hearing-driver-on-phone

Spain Train Crash Hearing: 'Driver On Phone'
5:02pm UK, Tuesday 30 July 2013 Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela
A court has been told the driver was on the phone at the time of the crash



Email
The Spanish high speed train that crashed was travelling at 120mph when the accident happened, court papers have revealed.

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OMG.

My friends, this was taken from Sky News:

http://news.sky.com/story/1123842/spain-train-crash-black-box-data-disclosed

Yes, the black boxes tell the whole story, don't they? I simply do not see any excuse for the driver, Pedro.

yes bb1, also, those black boxes used in court will be against the driver, I know this is not related, but, I wonder if Costa Concordia had also black boxes when it happened.

Well I do feel a teensy bit sorry for him. He won't have done it on purpose. But his life is ruined, and he will probably finish up in prison.

Yes, I know, many dead and injured. Please don't castigate me. I can't help the sympathy thing.

yes Sabot, I understand you, we are not castigating, that issue will be a matter for Spanish judges.

All I can say, Pedro is thank Christ I won't be travelling on a high speed train this coming Autumn. This Speed thing is beyond me. I would rather travel a bit more slowly, even if it does take longer.

I once stopped a train between Plymouth and Birmingham because I was frighten witless at the way in which my carriage was lurching about all over the place. They took the carriage off. But all I got for my trouble was a load of abuse from my fellow travellers because I made them late. As if British Rail would have taken any notice of me if there wasn't anything wrong. Some of these people were really foul to me. But I would do the same again, although probably a bit sooner than I actually did.

And do you know, not one of them said thank you.

yes Sabot, well done. about: "not one of them said thank you.", if they did not, they should have done it."

Pedro Silva wrote:yes Sabot, well done. about: "not one of them said thank you.", if they did not, they should have done it."

I wasn't wrong about the carriage, Pedro. And I wasn't the only one who looked scared witless. But I was shocked by the reaction I got. Stuff it, we didn't die.

At least you can stop trains. You can't stop planes.

Which is why I never, never fly.

Having spent my adult, formative years in Her Majesty's Fleet Air Arm, seen a few plane crashes, and never flown without a parachute, I genuinely didn't understand why you don't get a parachute on airliners. I still don't.
I had absolutely no fear of flying in a fighter bomber, and I remain obsessed with aeroplanes. They are the most beautiful things to me. But without a parachute, forget it.

Having once been on a flight with a conking out engine, I can't say it's my favourite means of travel....I've flown since then, but it's not something I would ever enjoy

Take some advice from me, Bonny, don't. Human error, pilot error, failure of components. Too bloody far up to make a fuss about who is responsible.
And you are talking to someone who knows what she is talking about. An air mechanic who never flies. Much as she is totally overwhelmed by aeroplanes.

Give me a parachute and I will fly in anything. Is this too much to ask?