One killed in Catalonia train crash as death toll from southern Spain crash rises

by · UPI

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A passenger train crashed in northern Spain on Tuesday night, killing one person and injuring dozens more, as the death toll from a train crash in southern Spain days earlier climbed to 42.

One person, reportedly the train's driver, was killed and 37 passengers were wounded in the Tuesday night crash in northern Spain, the government of Catalonia said in a statement.

Of the injured, five were listed in serious condition, six in less serious condition and 26 with minor injuries, it said.

All of the injured have been transferred to local hospitals, according to local police.

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According to a statement from the local government, a retaining wall collapsed on the tracks of the Rodalies Catalunya R4 line near Gelida, a town located about 25 miles northwest of Barcelona, causing the passenger train to crash.

Some 70 firefighters across 35 crews have been dispatched to the scene where they searched the train and have confirmed no one remains inside.

The Catalonia Fire Department said a unit of 36 personnel was working to stabilize the collapsed wall for the safety of inspectors, who will carry out a final search of the area to rule out any further victims.

"We continue securing the area to work safely," the Catalonia Fire Department said in a statement.

Catalonia police said the Central Airport and Public Transport Area, which is responsible for railway incidents, was at the scene of the crash and had initiated its investigation.

The incident comes following days of heavy rain in northern Spain.

The Catalonian Meteorological Service said online that Tuesday was the fifth day of rain for the region. From 2 p.m. CEST Friday, more than 7.5 inches of rain have fallen across a wide section of the autonomous territory of Spain, it said.

Amid the train rescue operation, Catalonia firefighters and local police were responding to hundreds of calls for assistance. There were reports of a landslide and a car that was swept away and submerged by flood waters in Palau-Sator, about 90 miles south of the train crash site in Gelida. Firefighters who were able to reach the vehicle discovered an unidentified body inside, confirming at least one additional death from the storm, fire officials said.

"I am closely following reports about the Rodalies train accident in Gelida," President Pedro Sanchez of Spain said on X. "My deepest sympathy and solidarity go to the victims and their families."

At midnight Tuesday, Spain began three days of mourning for the dozens of people killed and wounded in Sunday evening's train derailment and collision near the Cordoba province's town of Adamuz, located 20 miles south of the capital Madrid, and about 500 miles southwest of the train crash in Gelida.

Officials said the death toll from the Sunday crash rose to 42 on Tuesday, as the Civil Guard continues to search the train for remains with the use of canines.

The Andalusia government said in a statement that an additional body was discovered in a car of one of the trains. However, 43 missing-person reports have been filed with police.

Emergency services on Tuesday were able to extract three bodies that had previously been located in damaged rail cars.

The number of injured also rose by one on Tuesday to 123 after a patient arrived at a hospital with symptoms of persistent lower back pain stemming from the incident. That person remains hospitalized, officials said.

Of the injured, 118 are adults and five are minors. Thirty-seven people remain hospitalized as of Tuesday night, including four children. Nine people remain in intensive care, with another 24 being treated in general wards at various hospitals.

Officials said a train operated by private company Iryo was traveling from Malaga, in southern Spain, to Madrid with about 300 people on board when it derailed at about 7:45 p.m. Sunday, with several of its carriages jumping onto adjacent tracks.

The derailed cars collided with a second train operated by state-run Renfe, which was traveling in the opposite direction from Madrid to Huelva, forcing it off the tracks and sending its two front cars down a 13-foot embankment.

Officials have said both trains were within speed limits, and investigators are focusing their attention on the tracks as a possible cause of the incident.

Rail damage has been discovered and is being analyzed to see if it was a contributing factor to the crash or a consequence.

Spanish investigators continue to scour the train and tracks for evidence, the Spanish Civil Guard said, posting videos of criminal investigators in white work suits lying on the ground and inspecting the train and rails.