Le Journal

.

ADAMUZ, Spain (AP) — Spanish police said Monday that at least 39 people are confirmed dead in a high-speed rail collision the previous night in the south of the country when the tail end of a train jumped the track, causing another train speeding past in the opposite direction to derail. The impact tossed the second train’s lead carriages off the track, sending them plummeting down a 4-meter (13-foot) slope. Some bodies were found hundreds of meters (feet) from the crash site, Andalusia regional president Juanma Moreno said, describing the wreckage a “mass of twisted metal” with bodies likely still to be found inside. Efforts to recover the bodies continued Monday, and the death toll could rise. Authorities are also focusing on attending hundreds of distraught family members and have asked for them to provide DNA samples to help identify victims. The crash occurred Sunday at 7:45 p.m. when the tail end of a train carrying 289 passengers on the route from Malaga to the capital, Madrid, went off the rails. It slammed into an incoming train traveling from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif. The head of the second train, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers, took the brunt of the impact, Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said. That collision knocked its first two carriages off the track. Puente said that it appeared the largest number of the deaths occurred in those carriages. Authorities said all the survivors had been rescued in the early morning. Three days of mourning for a nation in shock The accident shook a nation which leads Europe in high-speed train mileage and takes pride in a network that is considered at the cutting edge of rail transport. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the crash. “Today is a day of pain for all of Spain,” Sánchez said on a visit to Adamuz, a village near the accident site, where many locals helped emergency services handle the influx of distraught and hurt passengers overnight. Twisted metal after a violent impact Moreno, the regional leader, said Monday morning that emergency services were still searching for bodies. “Here at ground zero, when you look at this mass of twisted iron, you see the violence of the impact,” Moreno said. “The impact was so incredibly violent that we have found bodies hundreds of meters away.” Video released by the Civil Guard showed the worst-hit carriages shredded open, train seats cast on the gravel packing under the tracks. One carriage lay on its side, bent around a large concrete pillar, with debris scattered around the area. Passengers reported climbing out of smashed windows, with some using emergency hammers to break the glass. Andalusia’s regional emergency services said 43 people remained hospitalized, 12 of whom were in intensive care units. Another 79 passengers were discharged by Monday afternoon, authorities said. Train services Monday between Madrid and cities in Andalusia were canceled, causing large disruptions. Spanish airline Iberia added flights to Seville and another two to Malaga to help stranded travelers. Some bus companies also reinforced their services in the south. Officials call accident ‘strange’ Transport Minister Puente early Monday said the cause of the crash was unknown. He called it “a truly strange” incident because it happened on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May. He also said the train that jumped the track was less than 4 years old. That train belonged to the Italian-owned company Iryo, while the second train was part of Spain’s public train company, Renfe. According to Puente, the back part of the first train derailed and crashed into the head of the other train. An investigation into the cause could take a month, he said. Álvaro Fernández, the president of Renfe, told Spanish public radio RNE that both trains were well under the speed limit of 250 kph (155 mph); one was going 205 kph (127…

They’ve been underestimated and often underdogs, but after showing college football fans everywhere that they’re a force to be reckoned with, the Miami Hurricanes are now poised to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on the local team’s home turf. Speaking with reporters at Sunday’s final pregame conference, Canes head coach Mario Cristobal and Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti spoke about their players and where they’re at as they prepare to head into the College Football Playoff National Championship. Prior to addressing the media, the coaches posed for pictures nest to the national championship trophy. Cristobal had an ice cold stare as he continues to prepare his team for Monday night’s showdown at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. “I don’t think the external stuff has ever been a motivator for our team. I think it’s always been internal. I think our guys always want to prove themselves, right?” said Cristobal. “If you don’t own those details, you’re going to get your butt beat on any given day.” Cignetti was all smiles, but the coach is determined to ensure the Hoosiers, who are favored to win by more than a touchdown, emerge triumphant when the final whistle blows. “You know, I think leading up to this game, there’s been a lot of pro-Indiana hype, a lot of rat poison out there. I think it’s time to sharpen the saw now, throw those warm fuzzies over out the door, that sentimentalism,” he said, “You know, it’s time to go play a game against a great opponent. We’ve got to have a sharp edge going into this game and, you know, you don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.” Cristobal’s approach to the title game is straightforward. He has no doubt quarterback Carson Beck can once again lead Miami’s offense. “I think Carson Beck epitomizes the ability to take an adverse situation and turn it into something not only positive, but something that helps one grow and endure and become a stronger and better version of themselves,” said Cristobal. “I think he’s the most experienced player in the College Football Playoffs.” Indiana is led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the former Columbus High School star. He’s thrown for eight touchdowns in the Hoosiers’ two playoff wins. Cignetti said he knows the challenge that Miami’s defensive line will pose. “Very impressive. They’re deep, they’re twitchy, they’re strong, they’re violent,” he said. Miami is looking to win their sixth ever national title, their first since 2001. “I don’t see us getting caught up in any nostalgic moments or whatnot. I just know the tremendous opportunity that,” said Cristobal. Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull, will perform a pregame concert at a stage set up outside the stadium, Monday evening.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion in downtown Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and wounded about a dozen more, according to an Italian medical charity running a surgical care facility in the city. The reasons for the blast were not immediately clear. The explosion appeared to have hit a restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw district of the Afghan capital. In the first few minutes after the blast, a police spokesman, Khalid Zadran, had identified the facility affected as a hotel. The Italian NGO, EMERGENCY, said its surgical center in Kabul had received 20 people from the blast, including seven who were already dead when they arrived. It noted the number of casualties was “still provisional.” Those injured included four women and a child, the organization’s Country Director in Afghanistan, Dejan Panic, said. “The wounded, some of whom are being assessed for surgery, have suffered lacerations and bruises,” he added. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the blast had caused both deaths and injuries but did not have any details on the numbers. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said two Chinese people had been seriously injured and a security guard had been killed in the blast, which it said had occurred at a restaurant. Footage aired by local television station Tolo News and filmed through a car windscreen showed people in the street with smoke and dust billowing behind them.

Police seek the public’s help in their search for a woman who was reported missing from Miami. According to City of Miami Police, Punita Kevala Frey was last seen in an unspecified part of Coconut Grove on Jan. 6. Frey, 48, stands 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighs around 150 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black zip-up hoodie, black pants and a black baseball cap. Officials urge anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact Miami Police Detective N. Scott, or any on-duty detective of Miami Police’s Special Victims Unit, at 305-603-6300, 305-579-6111 or svu@miami-police.org.