One dead and 49 left injured in rail accident in Barcelona

At least one person is dead and 49 injured after a commuter train derailed in Spain’s Catalonia region due to a landslide, according to the railway company Renfe and the Catalan police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra.

Five people are reported to be in a moderately serious condition as a result of the accident, which took place at 6.15am in Vacarisses (Barcelona province), an hour from the city of Barcelona. A total of 44 people were left with light injuries.

There were around 133 passengers riding on the train at the time of the incident, said firefighters. Emergency services confirmed that everyone has since been evacuated.

According to authorities, 83 people were unharmed. Of these passengers, 30 were taken by bus to the Terrassa train station, while the rest were brought to a sports center in Vacarrisses for psychological assistance.

The identity of the victim remains unknown. Police sources say the person likely died in the impact. They explained that some of the doors of the train were pulled off in the collision, which would have thrown the victim out of the car.

The last two cars in the six-car train, which was covering the Manresa-Sant Vicenç de Calders route, came off the tracks as a result of the landslide. Catalan deputy premier Pere Aragonès told Spanish news agency EFE that he blamed the landslide on the recent heavy rain.

“It’s common sense and evidence shows that the landslide was caused by the rain. We will have to do a survey and investigate to determine the exact causes but everything indicates that is was due to rain,” he said.

Catalonia has been experiencing heavy rains in the past few days, as has most of the Mediterranean region.

Catalan premier Quim Torra and two top aides have traveled to Vacarisses to follow the emergency operation in person.

President Quim Torra i Pla and regional ministers Damia Calvet and Miquel Buch have gone to Vacarisses where a train from the R4 line derailed this morning

English version by Susana Urra.