3 dead, over 200 injured in Argentina train crash

BUENOS AIRES: One commuter train slammed into another that had stopped between stations during the morning commute yesterday in suburban Buenos Aires, killing three passengers and injuring more than 200 on a line that has been under government control since a crash last year killed 51 people. The state-run train agency dismissed possible brake failure as a cause and suggested that the conductor was at fault.
Satellite images show the train had braked normally at the previous station, and then rolled past four functioning warning signals without stopping before crash, the agency said. “Before a warning signal, the conductor should completely stop the formation, a situation that did not happen.”
The conductor and his assistant survived but are not able to communicate, Transportation Minister Florencio Randazzo said, asking for patience while authorities investigate.
The train slammed into the back of another at 7:07 a.m. between the stations of Moron and Castelar on the Sarmiento line, which links the Argentine capital’s densely populated western suburbs to the downtown Once station.
Witnesses described the impact as “explosive,” shaking the walls of nearby homes and derailing several of the train cars. Some passengers were able to stumble out of the wreckage and walk along the tracks in the pre-dawn darkness, while many others waited for rescue workers to pull them out.