Spain train crash: Galicia derailment kills 78

Survivors say the train was travelling very quickly as it went around a bend

At least 78 people have been killed in the passenger train derailment in north-western Spain, officials say.

More than 140 were hurt, 20 seriously, after all eight carriages of the Madrid to Ferrol train came off the tracks near Santiago de Compostela.

Media reports say the train may have been travelling at more than twice the speed limit around a curve.

It is the worst train crash in Spain in 40 years. Seven days of mourning have been declared in the Galicia region.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was born in Santiago de Compostela, has arrived at the scene of the accident.

"I want to express my affection and solidarity with the victims of the terrible train accident in Santiago," Mr Rajoy said earlier.

Overturned carriages of derailed train near Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on 24 July 2013

At least 77 people have been killed and dozens injured after a train derailed in the Galicia region of Spain

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The black box of the train is now with the judge in charge of the investigation.

Spain's last major rail disaster was in 1972 when 77 people were killed in a derailment in Andalusia in the south.

Spain generally has a relatively good record in terms of rail safety, says the BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid.

This is a country which has invested huge amounts of money in its rail network, he says.

'Hell'

Railway firm Renfe said the train came off the tracks on a bend about 3 or 4km (2-2.5 miles) from Santiago de Compostela station at 20:41 local time (18:41 GMT) on Wednesday.

Santiago de Compostela

One of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in Europe
El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James) pilgrimage route has been followed by Christians since the Middle Ages
The remains of St James, one of Jesus' 12 disciples and the patron saint of Galicia, are said to rest in the city

It was on the express route between the capital, Madrid, and the ship-building city of Ferrol on the Galician coast, with 218 passengers on board - in addition to a unknown number of crew members.

Firefighter Jaime Tizon, one of the first to reach the site of the crash, described the scene as "hell".

"I'm coming from hell, I couldn't tell you if the engine was on fire, or one of the carriages or what..." he told ABC after dragging the injured and bodies from the train.

Eyewitness: "There were people lying everywhere"

Renfe says it and the track operating company Adif are collaborating with a judge appointed to investigate the accident.

One of the drivers who was trapped in the cab of the train after the accident is quoted as saying moments after the crash that the train had taken the curve at 190 km/h (118mph) when entering the curve, unidentified investigation sources told El Pais newspaper.

Spanish train crashes

August 2006: Inter-city train derails in Villada, in the province of Palencia, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
July 2006: At least 43 people killed in a metro train crash in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.
June 2003: At least 19 people killed and some 40 injured in a head-on train collision near Chinchilla in Albacete province.
March 2002: Two express trains collide outside Tarragona, in Catalonia, killing four people and injuring more than 80.

The speed limit on that section of track is 80km/h.

"I hope no one died because it will weigh on my conscience," he said.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said one British citizen was known to have been injured in the accident.

The derailment happened on the eve of Santiago de Compostela's main annual festival where thousands of Christian pilgrims were expected to flock to the city in honour of Saint James.

The city's tourism board said all festivities planned for Thursday have been cancelled.

Local resident Patricia Varela said cranes were moving carriages off the tracks

News 24 Hour

Thursday, July 25, 2013