Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Argentina train crash in Buenos Aires 'kills dozens'


A commuter train crash at a station in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, has killed 48 people and left hundreds injured, police say.
The train slammed into the barrier at the end of the platform at the Once station in the west of the city.
Local reporters say they saw bodies being removed from the wreckage, with dozens of people still trapped.
The injured driver and some passengers were taken away on stretchers, with the first carriage the worst affected.
The transportation secretary, JP Schiavi, told reporters at the station that the commuter train had hit the barrier at about 12mph (20km/h), destroying the front of the engine and crunching the carriages behind it.
One of the carriages was driven nearly six metres (20ft) into the next, he said.
"There are people still trapped, people alive," Mr Schiavi said.
Survivors told the TeleNoticias channel that many people had been injured in a jumble of metal and glass.
Some suffered fractures and other serious injuries.
"The train was full and the impact was tremendous," a passenger identified as Ezequiel told local television, according to Agence France-Presse news agency.
Medics at the scene were overwhelmed by the casualties, he added.
In September 2011, 11 people died when a commuter train in Buenos Aires hit a bus crossing the tracks and then hit a second train coming into a station.