One dead, 49 hurt as landslide derails train in Spain

One person was killed yesterday and 49 others were injured, five seriously, when a train derailed near Barcelona due to a landslide caused by heavy rains, emergency services and Spain’s rail operator said.

Two carriages of a convoy of six came off the tracks at 6:15 am (0515 GMT) near the town of Vacarisses, 35 kilometres (20 miles) northeast of Barcelona, emergency services said on Twitter. Of the 133 people on board, 44 were lightly injured, five were seriously injured and one person died, it said.

The train, which was travelling between Manresa and Barcelona, derailed due to a landslide following several days of heavy rain, rail operator Adif said in a statement. The train’s driver saw the landslide and slammed the emergency breaks but was unable to prevent the crash, Catalan newspaper El Periodico reported.