Punishment vowed in Mexican rail crash
MEXICO CITY: Mexico will punish those responsible for an overpass collapse that killed at least 24 people and injured dozens when a train on Mexico City’s newest metro line plunged on to a busy road below, the Government said yesterday.
Accompanied by officials involved in the construction and maintenance of the elevated metro line that collapsed on Monday night (local time), President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the investigation should be done quickly and nothing should be hidden from the public.
‘‘There’s no impunity for anyone,’’ he said.
The crash has raised wider questions about safety on one of the world’s busiest metro systems, which carries millions of people daily across the capital’s urban sprawl.
Firefighters using heavy chains to stabilise the site pulled bodies and survivors from the wreckage before lowering one dangling carriage on to a truck. Some 79 people were injured, including three children, authorities said.
Video on social media showed the moment when the overpass suddenly plummeted on to a stream of cars near the Olivos station in the southeast of the city, sending up clouds of dust and sparks.
Outside hospitals yesterday, family members grew frustrated waiting for information on relatives.
The overpass that collapsed was part of Linea 12, an addition to the network finished less than a decade ago and long plagued by allegations of corruption and structural weakness.
Four people who live in the area said they observed the support structures below the elevated tracks visibly shaking when trains crossed.