BBC (UK), EL PAÍS (Spain), EL MUNDO (Spain)
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA – The death count had risen to 78 by Thursday morning after an express train derailed in northwestern Spain. More than 140 other people were injured (including 20 in critical condition) in the crash near Santiago de Compostela, reports El Mundo.
The train was reported to be traveling at more than twice the speed limit around a curve, with one of the conductors quoted in El País as saying he had taken the curve at 190 km/h (188 mph) in a section of track where the speed limit is 80 km/h, reports. (See Below: video footage at the moment of the crash captured by a surveillance camera)
All eight carriages of the Madrid-to-Ferrol train came off the tracks at 8:41 pm (local time), the state railway Renfe said.
After the worst train crash in Spain in 40 years, seven days of mourning have been declared in the Galicia region, reports the BBC. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy arrived at the scene of the accident.
