Train derails in Buenos Aires killing 49

Sri Lanka Source Wednesday 22nd February, 2012

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Scores of people were killed and hundreds injured Wednesday when an overcrowded suburban train derailed at a central city station, Buenos Aires Civil Defence director Daniel Russo said.

Police claimed the accident occurred when the train's brakes failed as it arrived at the Once station in the west of the city and broke the barrier at the end of the platform killing at least 49 people and injuring an estimated 600 commuters.

Argentina Transportation Secretary J.P. Schiavi however told reporters at the station that the train was travelling at a speed of about 20 kilometres per hour, which is "too fast" when it entered the station and hit the barrier at the end of the platform crushing the engine and leading to the ramming of the coaches behind it.

The first car had penetrated almost six metres into the second car. Over 30 people were trapped inside the first car of the train when rescuers carved open the roof to pull them out.

Federal Police Commissioner Nestor Rodriguez says the dead include 48 adults and one child.

It is the highest toll in a train mishap in the country since 1970 when 200 commuters were killed in a train collision.

The death toll is expected to rise as many among the estimated 550 being provided treatment in the city hospitals are in a critical condition, Alberto Crescenti, head of the city's emergency health services, told reporters more than four hours after the accident.

Survivors told the TeleNoticias channel that many people were injured in a jumble of metal and glass, as there were many people in the first car with bicycles.