Over 150 passengers injured after two trains collide in Spain; check details

Spain's Renfe rail operator on Wednesday (December 7) said that more than 150 people were lightly injured when a train ran into the back of another at a station near Barcelona.

A spokeswoman for the SEM regional emergency services said the vast majority of those hurt in the collision which occurred just before 8:00 am (0700 GMT) sustained light injuries, while five were in moderate condition.

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Speaking to a news organisation, a spokesman for the state rail operator said, "There was a collision between two trains at 7:50 am at the Montcada i Reixac-Manresa station, on the line heading to Barcelona, that's to say one train ran into the back of another."

Rail traffic along the line was suspended in both directions and Renfe had opened an investigation into what happened, he said.

"There were 155 people affected of which 150 were lightly injured and five who were moderately hurt," a spokeswoman told.

She said 18 medical units had been deployed to the area, which lies some 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Barcelona.

Describing the moment of the collision, one passenger told a news agency that she had experienced "a tremendous blow" and said that "people were screaming".

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Another passenger said that she had seen "people with blood on them, because they had suffered a gash from the blow".

The president of the Catalan regional government, Pere Aragonès i Garcia, called for urgent "explanations" into the causes of the crash from the rail operator Renfe and the Spanish government.

Spanish Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez said she was closely monitoring the situation and wished a "speedy recovery" to the injured.

• Barcelona
• Madrid
• Spain
• Train
• Train accident
• Raquel Sanchez