A commuter train has crashed into a collapsed retaining wall near Barcelona, killing the driver and injuring 37 others, four of them seriously. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain, just two days after a collision between two high-speed trains in Andalucía left at least 42 people dead.
According to Claudi Gallardo, a spokesperson for the regional fire service, a retaining wall had collapsed onto the tracks, causing the accident involving the passenger train. Twenty ambulances and 38 fire engine units were dispatched to the scene in Gelida, on the outskirts of Barcelona.
The Catalonia fire service reported that “no one remained inside” the train carriages after conducting a review of the site. They are now examining the underside of the train and sweeping the area to rule out any further victims. The regional civil protection agency said on social media that the “retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks, causing an accident involving a passenger train.”
Spain’s railway operator, Adif, stated that the containment wall had probably collapsed due to heavy rainfall that swept across Catalonia this week. The suburban train derailment occurred in a region long plagued by underfunded rail services and frequent incidents.
Emergency workers were still searching for more victims in the wreckage from Sunday’s accident in Andalucía, about 500 miles away, as the nation began three days of mourning. Spain’s Prime Minister is expected to visit the site of the latest crash in the coming days.
