Buenos Aires, Argentina — At least 60 people were injured in Argentina’s capital when a passenger train crashed into an empty car on the tracks and derailed on Friday, authorities said, a rare collision that raised questions about basic safety.
The train was headed from Buenos Aires to the northern suburbs when it derailed around 10:30 a.m. on a bridge in the trendy Palermo neighborhood, safety officials said. Authorities said it was not immediately clear why the empty car had been on the rails, but they were investigating.
“There is not enough information about the mechanics of this accident,” Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri said from the crash site, where he praised the quick evacuation of the victims.
Dozens of injured people were treated at the scene and taken to hospitals, at least two by helicopter with chest trauma and broken bones. Alberto Crescenti, director of the city’s emergency service, said rescuers with police dogs had rescued 90 people trapped in the wreckage of the train, lowering some from the highway overpass with ropes. At least 30 of the passengers in the ambulances suffered moderate and serious injuries.
Dazed passengers staggering out of the derailed cars told local media that the train had stopped on the bridge for several minutes before starting up again and crashing violently into the other train, shaking passengers and veering off the rails. a jumble of sparks and smoke.
Officials at Argentina’s rail authority, Trenes Argentinos, said service on the popular rail line had been suspended.
Work was underway Friday to secure the area around the crash site, authorities said. They asked residents to stay away from the scene to give space for emergency services.
The accident sparked increased scrutiny over rail safety in Argentina, where a series of train collisions between 2012 and 2014 left more than 50 dead and hundreds injured. At the time it emerged that outdated infrastructure, delays and various errors in Buenos Aires had left the railway system vulnerable to accidents, prompting the government to invest in new safety and braking systems.
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