At least 45 injured after two trains collide in Argentina

At least 45 injured after two trains collide in Argentina

2011-01-01 06:25:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 45 people on Friday were injured after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, TELAM news agency reported.

At about 11:00 a.m. local time, two trains from TBA company collided in the Palermo area of Argentina’s capital city. The accident took place between the Palermo station and the Tres de Febrero station.

One train was stopped as the other, traveling in the same track and direction, collided with it from behind. The train driver attempted to Stop by using the emergency break without avail. Authorities are determining if the crash was due to a human mistake or a technical failure.

Authorities added that the trains were traveling at about 30 or 40 kilometers per hour. In addition, there is not much visibility as the site where the accident took place is steep.

At least 45 people were injured and over 90 resulted with minor injuries and were treated at the scene and sent home. However, the 45 wounded were transported to nearby hospitals, the ones in serious condition were flown by helicopter.

A 35-year-old woman was the worst injured in the collision but her injuries are non-life threatening. The woman who is also pregnant was flown to Santojanni hospital. Two other men are also reported to be in serious condition but in lesser danger than the pregnant woman.

Train service has been stopped between the Tigre and Retiro stations. Firefighters and police forces were rushed to the scene to aid the passengers and remove the remains of the trains.

Authorities calculated that between 80 and 100 people were traveling in each train as it is holiday season in Buenos Aires.

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