UK & World News
- 23 February 2012, 4:33
Argentina Passenger Train Slams Into Station
More than 40 people have been killed and some 550 injured after a train packed with commuters slammed into the end of the line in Buenos Aires.
The train is reported to have come into the city's Once station and hit a barrier, sending the second carriage crashing into the first.
Numerous witnesses have suggested the brakes appeared to fail.
Others described windows exploding as the tops of the train's carriages separated from their floors.
A woman named Myriam said: "In a blink of an eye we were on the floor. I don't know how we got out. The door crashed in on me."
Another unidentified passenger told reporters: "People started to break windows and get out however they could.
"Then I saw the engine destroyed and the train driver trapped amongst the steel."
At least 49 people are confirmed dead, according to officials.
The accident happened during the busy morning rush hour on the packed Sarmiento line, which is used by commuters heading into the city from the suburbs.
The train's driver was among the hundreds injured in the accident. Reports said he had to be cut out of the wreckage of his cabin.
Argentina's transport secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said the train failed to stop after coming into the station, crashing into a retaining wall at the end of the track.
"It was a very serious accident," he told reporters. "(Carriages) piled up on top of each other, and one of them went six metres inside another (carriage)."
what do you think?
Name witheld
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Kevin Krause
I think the speed quoted is far too low for the seriousness of the outcome. Anyway, I wouldn't fully trust a report's veracity where the writer wrote 'breaks' instead of 'brakes'.
David Wragg
I agree with Kevin - and clearly elderly rolling stock if body sides can separate from the underframes. Great shame, though. RIP.
Michael Jordan
You may be safe enough if you drive towards a brick wall at 12 miles per hour but a commuter train full of passengers weighs a lot more.
eqinox187
The people that say 12mph is to slow to do this damage Clearly dont know the massive weight or amount of kenetic energy that is in these things. Lets see average carriage mass of between 45 and 48 tonnes and lets say there is 6 perhaps more of these linked together now lets add that up lets say 46.5T x 6 thats a total weight of 279 Tonnes perhaps more. That sort of mass simly does not stop instantly it will continue onward riping the alloy passanger compartment apart even at a slow speed of 12mph. Its sad when people die tho i hope they find out what went wrong to provent it happening again if it was component failure and on the other hand if it was human error or maintinance cut backs that caused this that those responcable are properly delt with
Micky Lyden
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David Wragg
There have been similar accidents at this speed in this country and nothing like that death toll, even in the days of slam door stock with passengers holding doors open to make a quick gataway.
Maggs Roberts
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Adrian Wagstaff
So ... if say ... 1,000 people were in an inter city train going to London and behind it was another train miles of carriages long carrying another 1,000 people and the brakes failed so that the train behind was going at ... 5 miles per hour or one mile per hour ... presumably, mathematically, you are saying ... it could potentially be just as bad? ... So, sitting on a virtually stationary train ... can be far more dangerous than anyone ever realises? ... How many braking systems do trains have, anyway? ... How can their brakes fail? They shouldn't.
robert
5:54pm on 22/2/2012
49 people killed in 12mph. train crash.???????????????????.