- Title: ARGENTINA: Argentines grappling with deadly train crash aftermath
- Date: 24th February 2012
- Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FEBRUARY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) TRAIN ARRIVING VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS LEAVING THE STATION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PASSENGER, RUBEN MONTERO, SAYING:"One pays for a service where normally, as in any country of the world, a service has to be given but well, in this case, it wasn't so. This is what we have." VARIOUS OF ARGENTINE FLAG AT HALF STAFF POLICE GUARDING ENTRANCE TO PLATFORM WHERE ACCIDENT OCCURRED BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FEBRUARY 22, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAIN CRASH AND BODIES IN BLACK BAGS, EMERGENCY PERSONNEL WORKING
- Embargoed: 10th March 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina, Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Accidents,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA8S6EC7503TM2EE0HG0M01Q6KB
- Story Text: Argentines mourned the dead on Thursday (February 23) a day after a train crash killed at least 50 people and injured over 600.
A packed commuter train crashed at a Buenos Aires station during Wednesday's (February 22) morning rush hour.
Passengers said the force of the collision propelled the second train car inside the first carriage, trapping dozens of people in the wreckage alongside the busy platforms at Once station.
Officials said faulty brakes were suspected of causing the accident and witnesses said the train hurtled into the buffers.
Commuters were back on the trains again on Thursday, but the accident was uppermost in the minds of many.
Ruben Montero said the safety of the trains should be better.
"One pays for a service where normally, as in any country of the world, a service has to be given but well, in this case, it wasn't so. This is what we have," he said.
Flags were lowered to half staff to mourn the victims as the investigation continued.
The 28-year-old driver remained in intensive care and about 460 of the injured were still being treated in local hospitals.
Some 10 million passengers travel every month on the Sarmiento line, which links Buenos Aires to its western suburbs.
It was the scene of another crash in September, when two commuter trains smashed into a city bus, killing 11 people.
Months earlier, four people died during another rail crash. The worst train accidents in Argentine history include a 1970 crash that killed more than 230 people and another in 1978, in which about 55 died, local media said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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