Argentine Commuter Train Crashes, 49 Killed

Argentine Commuter Train Crashes, 49 Killed

A train packed with passengers crashed into the barrier at a Buenos Aires train station amid Wednesday morning rush hour, killing at least 49 people, including one child and injuring more than 600.  The accident is deemed as Argentina's worst rail crash in three decades.

The force of the impact thrust the second train car inside the first carriage, which trapped dozens of passengers in the wreckage alongside the busy platforms at Once station.

Most of the crash victims were traveling in the first two cars of the eight-car train, which was carrying between 1,200 and 1,500 passengers, Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said.

The 28-year-old driver is still in intensive care and about 460 of the injured were still being treated in local hospitals.

Faulty brakes were allegedly the cause of the accident, officials said.

Commuters inside the train literally "flew through the air," a passenger wearing a neck brace who identified himself as Fabio told local television. "There were lots of people thrown to the floor, injured, bloodied."

"The train (car) was embedded inside the other ... the seats were gone, they disappeared, and people were jumping out the window," he said.

Later in the day, relatives and friends went to the scene of the accident and tried to find out news about their missing loved ones.

Posted by James Fried on Friday February 24 2012, 4:11 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0