Argentina train crash leaves 4 dead, 120 injured

[News_Editor]

Argentina train crash leaves 4 dead, 120 injured

2011-02-18 01:48:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

BUENOS AIRES (BNO NEWS) -- Four people died and 120 were injured when a train crashed into another train on Wednesday evening near the Argentinean capital, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.

A provincial line train crashed into the back of a stationed passenger train near the San Miguel station, about 30 kilometres outside of Buenos Aires, according to the UGOFE Emergency Train union.

Members of the fire department along with emergency workers and railway employees were working on Thursday morning to remove the two trains from the railway, and a 250-ton towing machine was used to remove heavy machinery.

Officials said 16 people are still in the hospital. The search for victims has been finalized, but authorities said there is a possibility that the number of victims could increase when the rest of the debris is removed.

Federal Judge Juan Manuel Yalj, who is in charge of the investigation, said that two of the four brakes from the Ferrobaires train's engine were unusable because "one was blocked and the other had been locked and nailed down," as cited by the Buenos Aires Herald.

"Unless the investigations done on the brake system and the wagon turn up something different, it looks like this was caused by human error," the judge said. Yalj had also ordered the arrests of the two drivers.

Planning Minister Julio De Vido said during a press conference that the emergency brake from the first train was unusable, and that "those responsible will be apprehended." He added that the Ferrobaires company does not depend on the national government.

This is the worst rail accident in Argentina in the last 15 years.

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