When we recently described the case of the "monoderailed" Spanish "train to nowhere" [4] we hardly had in mind just how sad and tragic this proposition would become in reality just two short weeks later. A high-speed train (traveling at 250kph) has derailed in Northwestern Spain - killing at least 35 people and injured hundreds more. As CNN reports [5], the train crashed on a curve near the city of Santiago de Compostela - traveling from Madrid to the town of Ferrol. With China unveiling its plans to save the world's economy via a rail-road infrastructure fund [6], and Spain already neck-deep in funding rail-roads to nowhere, this evening's terrible disaster in Spain will surely provide some food for thought.
Via The Guardian [7],
Eyewitnesses said that the derailed train, which was reportedly carrying 240 passengers when the accident happened, had caught fire after the crash.
"It was going so quickly … It seems that on a curve the train started to twist, and the wagons piled up one on top of the other," passenger Ricardo Montesco told Cadena Ser radio station.
"A lot of people were squashed on the bottom. We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realised the train was burning … I was in the second wagon and there was fire … I saw corpses," he added.
Another witness told the station they had heard an explosion before seeing the derailed train.
CNN Coverage and color:
Clip of the crashed train:
Various images of the crash site:
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