Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain
Rescue workers recovered 73 bodies from the wreckage of the train, and four more victims died later in hospital, a spokesman for the regional judiciary said, adding that some carriages were yet to be searched.
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain
The train, which belongs to Spain’s state owned Renfe company, was travelling from Madrid bound for El Ferrol in the north.
The accident occurred on the eve of the feast of St James, a regional bank holiday in Galicia, and a festival which attracts hoards of pilgrims to the ancient city.
It is one of the worst rail crashes in Spanish history. In 2006, a train derailed on the underground system in Valencia killing 43 people and injuring four dozen.
Rescuers work at the site where a train crashed on the approach to Santiago de Compostela Station in northern Spain
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain
At least 77 people have been killed and more than 143 injured after a passenger train derailed outside the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. All 13 train carriages carrying 218 passengers plus crew left the tracks and four carriages overturned completely. Images from the scene showed crumpled metal and smoke billowing from the wreckage.
The train derailed shortly before 9pm local time as it sped along a curve in the tracks approaching the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela, in
Derailed carriages are removed as emergency personnel work at the site of the train accident in Santiago de Compostela
Relatives of victims of the train accident wait for news in Santiago de Compostela
Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (C) walks with Development Minister Ana Pastor (R) and Galician regional president Alberto Nunez Feijoo tour the wreckage of the train crash near Santiago de Compostela
It was not immediately clear what had caused the crash but some passengers reported hearing an explosion before the train derailed. Spain’s Interior Ministry, however, quickly dismissed a terrorist attack as the cause of the derailment.
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain
Rescuers work at the site where a train crashed on the approach to Santiago de Compostela Station in northern Spain
Even several hours after the accident rescue crews were still trying to reach passengers trapped in the wreckage. Photographs of the scene showed rows of corpses covered in blankets on the ground next to derailment site.
