At least 90 passengers were injured on Friday after two trains collided in Argentina.
One train ship was crossing a bridge in the Buenos Aires city of Palermo at 10:31 a.m. local time when it rear-ended another carrying goods for track maintenance work.
Firefighters and paramedics responded and were able to remove the injured passengers from the carriages within 40 minutes, Buenos Aires government leader Jorge Macri told reporters.
Macri said two passengers were taken by plane to a local hospital. He said they are in critical condition.
A train carrying passengers collided with a maintenance train on a bridge in the city of Palermo in Buenos Aires on Friday. Authorities reported that 60 passengers were injured; 30 were taken to area hospitals
Paramedics tend to injured passengers involved in a train crash in Palermo, Argentina on Friday
The transport union secretary said the signaling system on the railway line had not been functioning for 10 days
Transit Union Secretary Omar Maturano revealed that the train line’s signaling system had been disabled for the past ten days.
“There is theft of high-voltage cables,” he told reporters. ‘We have been working without signals for ten days due to the deterioration of the track and the lack of safety.
‘We work blindly. They don’t repair the trains because there is no money. I hold the (government) responsible for the incident.”
Sources with knowledge of the investigation told news network TN that repairs were being made to the track’s signaling system before the passenger train collided with the maintenance train.
Transport Minister Franco Mogetta said authorities were investigating the cause of the accident.
‘We are sorry for this terrible accident. Fortunately, we have no deaths to report,” he said. ‘We are investigating the causes of the accident. There are several hypotheses, we cannot predict anything.’
Social media footage showed the trained passenger’s front car completely destroyed.
First responders could be seen escorting passengers down the opposite track, while teams of paramedics treated the injured as they lay on stretchers.
Christian Maidana, 32, was in the third passenger car and was on his way to his job as a waiter at a school when the train suddenly stopped and his head hit a metal bar on the seat in front of him.
First responders were able to evacuate passengers within 40 minutes
The fire brigade ordered passengers to remain on the train due to a possible oil leak before being evacuated
Paramedics transport injured commuters after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday morning
“It was ten seconds of shaking, a terrible shock,” he told La Nación newspaper. ‘When I realized we were on top of the bridge, I became terrified because everything was shaking. “I thought we were going to fall.”
Maidana said he walked up to the first car and saw passengers lying on the ground with their faces covered in blood.
A retired woman traveling with her granddaughter said she usually sat in the first car, but opted for a seat in the last car.
She said they were ordered to stay in their cars because of a possible oil spill before being evacuated.
“I felt three strong whiplashes, I thought the train was going to fall over,” she said.