Several injured after train hits crane in southern Spain - VIDEO
A commuter train collided with a construction crane in Cartagena, southeastern Spain, on Thursday, injuring several people, including one seriously, following two deadly rail accidents earlier this week.
Spain’s rail infrastructure operator, Adif, said online that traffic on the affected line was halted due to “the intrusion into the infrastructure gauge by a crane not belonging to the railway operation,” News.Az reports, citing DW.
Details on how the crane came to obstruct the track remain unclear, and investigations are ongoing.
The collision occurred in the Murcia region, just days after a high-speed train crash in Andalusia killed at least 43 people and another accident in Catalonia claimed a train driver’s life.
A spokeswoman for the national rail operator Renfe confirmed “several minor injuries” and clarified that the crane was external to the railway: “It’s a commuter train, and the crane belongs to someone else, it’s not ours. The crane hit the train,” she told AFP.
Spanish train drivers had already called a three-day strike after two fatal rail accidents within days have raised doubts about the safety of the network.
The SEMAF union said the deadly crashes in Adamuz and Gelida, which killed 43 people and one person respectively, marked a turning point and justified strike action on February 9, 10, and 11. The call follows a second accident on Tuesday in Catalonia, just two days after the Adamuz tragedy.
SEMAF said the accidents demand all necessary measures to guarantee the safety of rail operations. Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he understood the mood of train drivers but rejected a general strike as the best response, voicing full confidence in Spain's rail system.
Puente said Spain should not question its rail network or public transport, calling it a strong system despite not being perfect or infallible.
The second accident occurred around 9 p.m. local time near Gelida, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Barcelona, when a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks and struck a short-distance train.
By Nijat Babayev
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