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Spain mourns after train wreck

July 25, 2013

Spain is in mourning after the country’s worst train crash in decades, which left at least 78 people dead. The train driver has been detained by police in hospital, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

https://p.dw.com/p/19EH0

Since the crash, there has been widespread speculation about the possible cause, with Spanish media reporting that the driver had admitted that the train was traveling at twice the allowed speed when it entered the curve.

However, investigators are currently unable to speak to the 52-year-old driver, due to undisclosed injuries he sustained in the crash. But the chief of police in the northwestern Galicia region, Jaime Iglesias, said that the train driver had been detained in hospital since 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Police scientists had reduced the death toll from 80 to 78 on Friday, after inspecting victims' remains. More than 200 people were on board the train when it flew out of the curve and hit a wall. The government of Galicia region said 94 people were still being treated in hospital, at least 31 in a critical condition.

Many of those on board the train were on their way to attend a Christian festival in Santiago de Compostela, but this year’s event has been cancelled out of respect for the victims.

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia traveled to the region to visit survivors of the crash in hospital.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who visited the crash scene, described it as the "saddest day." He also declared three days of national mourning.

pfd,slk/ch (AP, Reuters)