Spanish Train Disaster, 12 Unwary Festival Goers Die

Published : June 24, 2010 :: 13:06:25 [ 1,681 views ]

An express train speeding through a busy Spanish station has collided with a group of people who had been crossing the train tracks on Wednesday. Twelve people have died in the accident whilst a further 13 have been reported injured.

Spain, the 23^rd of June 2010 [PDN]: The express train was passing through the Castelldefels Playa station near Barcelona when the crash occurred.

The group of people involved in the tragic accident had just exited a packed train heading in the other direction when they decided to cross the train tracks to avoid the busy pedestrian bridge.

One anonymous witness stated, “most decided to jump across the tracks and cross to the other side of the station,” due to the busy platform and walkway.

According to local media reports, the involved train was not designated to stop at the station, as such, it was travelling at high speed when the accident occurred.

Most of the injured or deceased had been people travelling to a St. John’s Day festival, marking the start of summer. A public holiday in many parts of Spain, June 24^th St. Johns day celebrations traditionally begin the night before the event and include merit making and bonfire gatherings.

In a brief statement by Spain’s Interior Ministry, it was revealed that none of the involved train’s passengers had been injured. The train was travelling between Alicante and Barcelona.

The accident is Spain’s worst rail tragedy since 19 people died in 2003, when two trains collided near the central Spanish town of Chinchilla.