Dozens die in rail disaster

A TRAIN derailed in north-western Spain last night, killing at least 45 people and injuring many more.

All 13 carriages of the train, which was travelling on the express route between Madrid and the ship-building city of Ferrol on the Galician coast, came off the tracks near the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Spain’s Cadena SER radio station cited the president of Galicia’s main court, Miguel Angel Cadenas, at the scene saying as many as 56 people had died, but that could not be independently confirmed.

State-owned train operator Renfe said in a statement that 218 passengers and an unspecified number of staff were on board.

Renfe said the derailment happened at 8.41pm local time on a high-speed section that was inaugurated two years ago.

A photographer at the scene said he saw dozens of bodies being taken from the wreckage by emergency workers.

TV footage showed several bodies covered by blankets alongside the tracks.

Rescue workers were also seen caring for people still inside some of the carriages.

King Juan Carlos and prime minister Mariano Rajoy, a native of Galicia, both offered their condolences.

Leader of the regional government A lberto Nunez Feijoo said it was too early to say what caused the accident.

“There are bodies lying on the railway track. It’s a Dante-esque scene,” he said.

The crash was Spain’s deadliest railway disaster in decades.

A n accident in 1972 left 77 dead after a crash near Seville.

The mangled wreckage of the train after it crashed near Santiago de Compostela.