At least 90 passengers were injured after two trains collided in Argentina on Friday.
A train carrying it was crossing a bridge in the Buenos Aires town of Palermo when it rear-ended another train carrying supplies for track maintenance work at 10:31 local time.
Firefighters and paramedics responded and were able to remove the injured passengers from the carriages within 40 minutes, Buenos Aires head of government Jorge Macri told reporters.
Macri said two passengers were airlifted to the area hospital. He said they are in critical condition.
A train carrying passengers collided with a maintenance train on a bridge in the Buenos Aires town of Palermo on Friday. Authorities reported that 60 passengers were injured; 30 were taken to area hospitals.
Paramedics treat injured passengers who suffered a train accident in Palermo, Argentina, on Friday
The secretary of the transit union said the signaling system on the train line had not been working for 10 days
The secretary of the Transit union, Omar Maturano, revealed that the train line’s signaling system was closed for the last 10 days.
“There is theft of high-voltage cables,” he told reporters. ‘We have been working for 10 days without signals, due to the degradation of the railway and the lack of security.
‘We are working blindly. They don’t fix the trains because there is no money. “I hold the (government) responsible for the incident.”
Sources with knowledge of the investigation told news network TN that repairs were being made to the signal system on the track before the passenger train collided with the maintenance train.
Transportation Secretary Franco Mogetta said authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
‘We regret this terrible accident. Luckily we don’t have (deaths to report),’ he said. ‘We are investigating the causes of the accident. There are multiple hypotheses, we cannot predict anything.’
Social media images showed the front passenger vehicle completely destroyed.
First responders could be seen escorting passengers down the opposite lane while teams of paramedics tended to the injured lying on stretchers.
Christian Maidana, 32, was sitting in the third passenger car and was heading to his job as a waiter at a school when the train suddenly stopped, causing his head to hit a metal bar on the seat in front of him. he.
Rescuers were able to evacuate the passengers in 40 minutes.
Firefighters ordered passengers to remain on the train due to a possible oil spill before being evacuated.
Paramedics transport injured travelers after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday morning.
“It was 10 seconds of shaking, a terrible scare,” he told the newspaper La Nación. ‘When I realized we were on top of the bridge, I was scared because everything was shaking. “I thought we were going down.”
Maidana said he walked to the first car and found the passengers lying on the ground with their faces covered in blood.
A retired woman, traveling with her granddaughter, said she normally sat in the first car, but opted for a seat in the last car.
He said before they were evacuated they were ordered to stay in their cars because of a possible oil spill.
“I felt three strong whiplashes, I thought the train was going to overturn,” he said.