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…

South Florida woke up in the 40’s and 50’s this Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a strong cold front swept through the area on Sunday. Today look for bright sunshine and mild high temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s with a strong breeze out of the North-Northwest. Therefore, if you are planning on tailgating, make sure to dress in layers to stay comfortable. Temperatures will gradually go down throughout the game and by 7pm, they will be in the lower 60’s and before midnight in the 50’s. Also, expect a gusty wind shifting out of the North-Northeast to help a few clouds roll-in. Have a wonderful day South Florida and make it a safe one! Vivian Gonzalez Meteorologist, AMS Certified WSN Channel 7

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