Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has declared three days of mourning across the country after a tragic train crash that killed dozens of people, the BBC reports.
Sanchez has promised to find out what caused the crash, while rescuers continue to search the wreckage of the train.
Spain’s railway operator Adif said the crash happened on the evening of the 18th of January at around 7:45 p.m. local time, about an hour after one of the trains involved in the accident left Malaga for Madrid. It derailed on a straight stretch of track near Cordoba and crashed into an oncoming train. The impact sent the other train’s carriages flying off an embankment. Most of the injured and dead were in the front carriages of the second train, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva. Rescuers said the wreckage of the train, which had been crushed by the impact, had made it difficult to reach those trapped in the carriages.
Sanchez, who arrived at the scene of the accident with other officials on Monday afternoon, told reporters that it was a sad day for the country. He promised that answers would be found and made public.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said
the investigation would take at least a month and described the accident as “extremely strange.”
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted an anonymous source as saying that experts had found a damaged joint that had caused the crack in the rail connection. The Spanish newspaper El País said it was not clear whether the joint was damaged during the collision or caused it.
There were about 400 passengers and crew on both trains. 122 people have been treated and 41 remain in hospital. 12 of those hospitalized are in intensive care. Puente said the death toll could rise and authorities were continuing to identify the dead.
All high-speed trains from Madrid to southern Spanish cities have been cancelled until the 23rd of January.
Emergency services in the Andalusian region have urged victims of the accident to contact their families or post on social media that they have survived.
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