MADRID, Jan 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A commuter train hit a crane in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia on Thursday leaving “several lightly injured”, state operator Renfe said, the latest rail accident to strike within a week.
Spain was already reeling from back-to-back rail disasters that claimed 44 lives, injured dozens and raised doubts about the safety of the system.
“There are several lightly injured” and the crane did not belong to Renfe, a spokeswoman said.
Murcia emergency services confirmed the accident occurred in the municipality of Alumbres, without specifying the number of victims.
The train had not derailed and police and firefighters were at the scene, the emergency services added.
Traffic was suspended on the line between the city of Cartagena and the village of Los Nietos, the Renfe spokeswoman said.
A collision between two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia on Sunday killed 43 people – Spain’s deadliest rail disaster in more than a decade.
On Tuesday, a commuter train ploughed into the rubble of a collapsed retaining wall near Barcelona, killing one and injuring 37.
The train driver union has called a three-day strike for February, saying it was “the only legal route left for workers to demand the restoration of the rail system’s safety” for staff and users. — NNN-AGENCIES