GELIDA, Spain (AP) — Commuter rail service in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region was suspended Wednesday after a Barcelona commuter train crashed the night before, killing one person and injuring 37 others, authorities said.
The crash came two days after Spain’s worst railway disaster since 2013 that left many Spaniards in disbelief. The death toll in that crash, in southern Spain, rose to 43.
Crews worked through the night near the Catalan town of Gelida, about 37 kilometers (23 miles) outside Barcelona, to complete the rescue effort there. The train hit a retaining wall that fell onto the tracks late Tuesday, authorities said.
Emergency workers haven't ruled out the possibility of finding more victims in the wreckage from Sunday’s high-speed crash, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) away from Gelida. Three days of national mourning are underway, while the cause of that crash is being investigated.
The victim of Tuesday night’s crash was a conductor in training, regional authorities said. Most of the injured had ridden in the first train carriage.
The disruptions Wednesday morning caused significant traffic jams on roads leading into Barcelona. Regional authorities in Catalonia asked people to reduce unnecessary travel and companies to allow remote work while the disruptions continued.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered condolences to those affected in the Barcelona crash, writing on X: “All my affection and solidarity with the victims and their families.”
While Spain’s high-speed rail network generally runs smoothly, and at least until Sunday had been a source of confidence, commuter rail services are plagued by reliability issues. However, crashes causing injury or death aren't common.
Spain’s railway operator ADIF said the containment wall likely collapsed because of heavy rainfall that swept across the northeastern Spanish region this week.
Tragedy in southern Spain
Sunday evening's crash happened when the tail end of a train carrying 289 passengers on the route from Malaga to the capital, Madrid, derailed and crashed into an incoming train traveling from Madrid to Huelva, another southern city, according to rail operator Adif. The collision took place near Adamuz, a town about 370 kilometers (roughly 230 miles) from the Spanish capital, Madrid.
The front of the second train, which was carrying 184 people, took the brunt of the impact, which knocked its first two carriages off the track and down a 4-meter (13-foot) slope. Some bodies were found hundreds of meters from the crash site, according to Andalusia regional President Juanma Moreno.
Authorities were still searching for more bodies Wednesday. Health authorities said 37 people remained in hospitals Wednesday morning, while 86 people were treated and discharged. A 43rd victim was found during rescue efforts Wednesday, regional authorities said.
Among the injured was Santiago Tavares, a Portuguese traveler who broke his leg.
“Minutes before the train crash I had a feeling that an accident would happen because the carriage was moving a lot,” Tavares told Portuguese broadcaster TVI. “I even mentioned to my girlfriend that the carriage was moving more than normal. Ten minutes later the accident happens, I started to fly ... Then, I woke up and I realized I was alive.”
‘All hypotheses are open’
Officials are continuing to investigate what caused both train crashes. Transport Minister Óscar Puente called Sunday's collision “truly strange” since it occurred on a straight section of track and neither train was speeding.
Puente said that officials had found a broken section of track that could possibly be related to the origin of the crash, while insisting that is just a hypothesis and that it could take weeks to reach any conclusions.
In August, the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers sent a letter asking Spain’s national railway operator to investigate flaws on train lines across the country and to reduce speeds at certain points until the tracks were fully repaired. Those recommendations were made for high-speed train lines, including the one where Sunday’s crash took place, the union told The Associated Press.
The train that jumped the track belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second train belonged to Spain’s public train company, Renfe.
Iryo said in a statement Monday that its train was manufactured in 2022 and had passed a safety check on Jan. 15.
Puente and Renfe president Álvaro Fernández said that both trains were traveling well under the speed limit of 250 kph (155 mph) and “human error could be ruled out.”
The crash shook a nation that leads Europe in high-speed train mileage and takes pride in a network that is considered at the cutting edge of rail transport.
___
Naishadham reported from Madrid.