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Alsharq Tribune-AFP
Two separate trains derailed in Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia Tuesday evening, killing one driver and injuring 37, after a deadly train collision killed more than 40 people on Sunday, Spanish national television RTVE reported.
According to Catalan emergency services, one of the accidents occurred on the R4 suburban line near the town of Gelida in Barcelona province, where a retaining wall alongside the railway line suddenly collapsed as a train was passing. The collapse forced the train to derail and damaged the driver's cab.
Gelida Mayor Lluis Valls told local media that four of the injured were in critical condition, six sustained serious injuries, and the others suffered minor wounds.
Emergency services dispatched 11 ambulances and a fire brigade unit to the scene. Preliminary assessments suggested that heavy rainfall in recent days may have led to the collapse of the retaining wall.
The other derailment occurred in Girona province between the stations of Blanes and Macanet-Massanes. Authorities said storms caused rocks to fall onto the tracks, leading to the subsequent derailment.
Both incidents occurred as severe weather hit Spain's Mediterranean coast. The State Meteorological Agency and the Meteorological Service of Catalonia have warned of a significant storm in the region from Saturday through Wednesday, with the Catalan coastline at the center of the impact.
The accidents happened two days after a deadly high-speed train crash near Adamuz in southern Spain killed at least 42 people and injured more than 100. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced three days of official mourning following the crash.
A passenger who survived Sunday's deadly crash recounted to Xinhua on Tuesday scenes of panic, darkness and smoke inside the carriages moments after the collision.
Lucas Merayo, who was traveling with his partner on Sunday aboard one of the ill-fated high-speed trains, said the collision occurred about an hour after departure, when "we felt a loud noise, the lights went out and smoke started to fill the carriage."
He said nearby villages rushed to help, some in their pajamas, taking injured passengers in private cars to hospitals.
