Four dead, 47 others injured in train crash in northwest Spain

The accident happened at 9:30 a.m. local time as the train with 63 people aboard (61 passengers plus the train driver and a guard) was approaching the station of O Porrino where it was not scheduled to stop.

The front wagon of the train operated by Portuguese rail operator, Combois Portugal, went off the track and crashed into a metal tower at the side of the track, bringing the train to an abrupt halt.

Adif, the company which runs the Spanish railway infrastructure, confirmed that the Portuguese driver and the Spanish guard were among the victims, and one victim had been rescued from the wreckage but died in hospital in the nearby city of Vigo.

47 others were injured in the crash and taken to various hospitals and health centers. Emergency services confirmed that all of them had been able to escape from the train and make their way to safe areas along the track before receiving treatment and most had been allowed to leave in the afternoon.

Spanish TV network RTVE reported that firemen are still working to rescue a person from the train and this person could have died, while the presence of others among the wreckage has not been ruled out.

Adif has opened an investigation into the causes of the accident, while Spanish Secretary of State for Infrastructures Julio Gomez-Pomar explained that maintenance work was being carried out at the scene of the accident, which meant that all trains on the route had been using a provisional track.

Meanwhile, Spanish Justice Minister Rafael Catala, confirmed that the train involved in the crash passed a "routine" revision on Thursday and had gone through a "rigorous" check in May.

Source: Xinhua