Castelldefels railway accident

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The Castelldefels railway accident occurred on June 23, 2010 at around 11:23 pm in the Platja de Castelldefels train station on the Sant Vicenç de Calders – Barcelona railway line in Castelldefels near Barcelona , when the Alaris 01202 on the Alicante Terminal - Barcelona-Sants route was a group of people captured between 30 and 40 young people and killed 13 of them. Until the railway accident in Santiago de Compostela in July 2013, it was the worst railway accident in Spain since 2003, when a passenger and freight train collided in Chinchilla, killing 19 people.

Course of events

A train from the RENFE class 490

A fully occupied train on the Rodalies R2Sud line on the Barcelona-França  - Sant Vicenç de Calders route let numerous passengers disembark at Platja de Castelldefels station. Allegedly there were up to 800 people on the platform at this time. The reason for the high frequency of visitors was the celebration of St. John's Day  - Sant Joan  -, the summer solstice , which is traditionally held on the beach in Catalonia . 30 to 40 people decided to cross the tracks instead of using the safe underpass that was built in November 2009 . A train of the RENFE series 490 traveling in the direction of Barcelona as Alaris Alicante-Barcelona then caught the crowd despite warning signals and reduced speed (135 km / h). 150 km / h were permitted at the point. According to the first information, 12 people were killed, 14 others were seriously injured, 3 of them life-threatening. The Alaris stopped a hundred yards after the train station. The route was closed immediately, but opened again at 12:30 p.m. the following day. The rescue workers were on site with 24 ambulances and 15 fire engines. 24 hours later, the Catalan government increased the number of dead to 13, justifying this with the difficulty of assigning the body parts.

Victim

The victims included 7 Ecuadorians , 2 Colombians and 2 Bolivians and one person from Romania , most of whom were younger than 28 years.

criticism

Criticism has been expressed regarding the underpass. First, eyewitnesses reported that the underpass, which was only opened in 2009, was closed, but this was denied by residents and politicians. A few others reported that the underpass was overcrowded and that the group of people had therefore decided to walk over the tracks. The Catalan Prime Minister José Montilla described the accident as a result of youthful recklessness. According to Mayor Joan Sau , a pedestrian bridge from the platform over the tracks was closed due to construction work at the time of the accident, but the RENFE assured that all kinds of safety were guaranteed. On the occasion of the holiday, RENFE had provided additional staff in the form of a dozen security guards at the station to safely escort the numerous travelers towards the beach, but their shift officially only began at 11.30 p.m., 7 minutes after the accident.

consequences

Four different investigations were ordered. The Spanish Minister of Transport, José Blanco López, ordered an investigative authority to work on behalf of the Spanish and Catalan governments. RENFE, as those involved in the accident, and the state railway infrastructure authority Adif, as the operator of the Platja de Castelldefels train station , ordered internal investigations into the accident. In addition, the authorities of the Gavà district , to which Castelldefels belongs, are investigating .

José Montilla praised the quick work of the rescue workers and made June 24, 2010 the official day of mourning in Catalonia, while King Juan Carlos canceled the traditional celebrations of St. John's Day - the holidays of his namesake. Also José Luis Zapatero and José Manuel Barroso expressed their dismay to the accident.

On June 26, 2010, Ecuadorian and Colombian immigrants observed a minute's silence at the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona . The Ecuadorian Ambassador to Madrid, Galo Chiriboga, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu , attended the ceremony.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/Zug-rast-in-Jugendliche---12-Tote-11334452
  2. ↑ http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3747157/govern-foment-parlen-dimprudencia-tragedia-castelldefels.html
  3. ↑ http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/panorama/vermischtes/Es-klang-so-als-wuerden-Ssteine-zermahlen/story/20353284
  4. ↑ http://www.chiemgau24.de/nachrichten/welt/mindest-tote-zugunglueck-spanien-816198.html
  5. ↑ http://www.elperiodico.es/es/noticias/sociedad/20100624/juez-autoriza-reapertura-linea-renfe-afectada/345931.shtml
  6. ↑ http://www.lavanguardia.es/sucesos/noticias/20100624/53951985106/la-generalitat-eleva-a-13-el-numero-de-muertos-en-castelldefels.html
  7. ↑ http://www.neuepresse.de/Nachrichten/Magazin/Uebersicht/Schwere-Vorwuerfe-nach-Bahndrama-von-Castelldefels
  8. ↑ [1]
  9. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/31796158
  10. ↑ http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/chronik/2383255/schwere-vorwuerfe-nach-bahndrama-castelldefels.story
  11. ↑ http://www.lavanguardia.es/sucesos/noticias/20100624/53951858684/montilla-declara-un-dia-de-duelo-oficial-en-catalunya.html
  12. ↑ http://www.elperiodico.es/es/noticias/sociedad/20100624/rey-anula-recepcion-con-motivo-onomastica/345610.shtml
  13. ↑ http://www.lavanguardia.es/sucesos/noticias/20100626/53953202567/minuto-de-silencio-en-barcelona-en-recuerdo-de-las-victimas-del-atropello-mortal-de-castelldefels-ec .html