Spain Train Crash: Driver Killed in Rail Accident Near Barcelona

At least 37 people injured in derailment near Barcelona, days after two high-speed trains collided in Andalusia

A train driver has been killed and at least 37 people injured after a train crashed into a wall in Spain.

Officials said the train derailed after colliding with a retaining wall that had collapsed on to the tracks between Gelida and San Sadurni, near Barcelona, on Tuesday evening.

The incident came days after two high-speed trains crashed near Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba, killing 39 people.

On Tuesday, 20 ambulances were dispatched to Gelida, along with ‍38 firefighter units, authorities said.

Five people were seriously injured, a spokesman for the region’s fire service said. Most of the wounded had been travelling in the train’s first carriage.

“A retaining wall collapsed on to the tracks, causing an accident involving a passenger train,” the region’s civil protection agency wrote on social media.

Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, said: “All my affection and solidarity with the victims and their families.”

Emergency workers at the scene after the commuter train crashed near Barcelona Credit: Joan Mateu Parra/AP

Five people were seriously injured in the crash, a spokesman for the region’s fire service said

On Sunday, the tail end of a train heading from Malaga to Madrid derailed at 7.45pm, smashing into an oncoming train that was travelling from the capital to Huelva.

Emergency workers were still searching the wreckage in Andalusia for victims on Tuesday as the nation began three days of mourning.

Severe storms have hit north-eastern Spain, with officials warning about travel conditions.

Investigators at the scene of the crash near Adamuz identified some wear on a joint between sections of rail, known as a fishplate, which they said showed the fault had been there for some time, a source briefed on the investigations told Reuters.

Recovery operations continue at the site of the accident in Andalusia Credit: Anadolu

It was found that the ‌faulty joint created a gap between the rail sections that widened as trains continued to travel along the track, which had been renovated in May as part of a €700m (£608m) project.

Technicians said they believed the faulty joint was key to identifying the precise cause of the high-speed crash. Authorities are yet to establish an official cause.

In the months leading up to the disaster, the company that manages Spain’s railway infrastructure warned of at least eight technical incidents on the high-speed line.

Most of the problems related to the signalling system, although there were also issues related to overhead power lines and other infrastructure.