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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Awful Tragedy At Once Train Station In Buenos Aires


nside the front two carriages of the train.
At least 40 people were killed and 550 were injured following a train crash at Once station, officials confirmed. A 7-year-old boy was amongst the first reported fatalities as he remained trapped inside one of the front carriages for almost three hours.

The head of the SAME emergency services Alberto Crescenti said that the amount of people injured had increased to "at least 550," while rescue workers confirmed around 30 passangers were still trapped inside and underneath the train.

After the crash at least 70 people were pulled out of the wreckage and taken to nearby Ramos Mejía Hospital and Durand Hospital to be treated.

Sources at the scene said that rescue activities were non-stop and that there were many injured passengers sat in the station hall waiting to be moved to hospital. 

Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi was present at the scene and earlier described the accident as "terrible." 

The train crashed when it was moving into the station, as it failed to stop at the lights and collided into the platform. Schiavi told reporters "it was moving at a speed of 26 kilometres per hour when entering the station, however when it crashed, it had slowed down and was travelling at 20 kilometres per hour."

He went on to say “the impact of the crash caused the second carriage to be pushed 6 metres into the first carriage of the train."

Once station, located in the heart Plaza Miserere is one of Buenos Aires' central train stations. The state-run TBA Sarmiento train line runs from Moreno to Once station, and was filled with passengers on their daily commute. 
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