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3 July 2006
VALENCIA — At least 34 people died on Monday in an underground train crash in Valencia.
Two of the train’s carriages derailed and crashed in a tunnel near Jesus station in the city centre.
Officials quickly ruled out terrorism as a cause of the crash.
Excess speeding and a collapsing train wheel are among the likely causes.
About a dozen other people were injured, some seriously, in one of Spain’s worst accidents of its kind.
About 150 people were evacuated from the scene and emergency services worked to free trapped passengers from the train.
Special emergency units were deployed in central Valencia, and there were reports that roads near the scene of the crash were closed off.
Those injured were taken to hospitals around Valencia.
Officials and emergency services suggested speeding, defective wheels or the possible collapse of a tunnel wall as causes of the crash.
The train was travelling on Valencia’s Number One underground route, and came off the rails between Plaza de Espana and Jesus stations.
Carriages were busy as the accident happened at about 1pm when many people would have been heading home for lunch.
A trapped passenger called emergency serivces.
Last year, three underground trains collided in Valencia on the same line, injuring 29 people.
The accident comes days before Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Valencia, with preparations being made for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to use the city’s public transport network.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news