Investigators on Thursday said speed was a factor in the Spain train derailment that killed at least 78, and are bringing the driver in for questioning.
The crash took place near Santiago de Compostela late Wednesday. Reuters reported that the train hit a sharp curve at high speed, derailed and caught fire.
The death toll is now 78 — but that figure could again rise, emergency responders warned. At least 141 were injured, and many have been transported to area hospitals with varying degrees of wounds, The Associated Press reported.
The train was carrying 247 people when it derailed, hurling cars into a concrete wall located at the end of the track, while the engine overturned, video footage of the wreck showed.
“We heard a massive noise, and we went down the tracks,” said a baker who works near the area of the wreck, Reuters reported. “I helped get a few injured and bodies out of the train. I went into one of the cars, but I’d rather not tell you what I saw there.”
Emergency responders said bodies of dead and injured were strewn near the tracks.
Police have placed the driver under formal investigation, a spokeswoman for Galicia’s Supreme Court said to Reuters. The train had two drivers; one was recovering from unspecified injuries in the hospital.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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