Spain has experienced its third train accident in recent times after a commuter train collided with a construction crane, resulting in at least four people sustaining injuries.
The incident occurred around midday on Thursday near Alumbres, in the Cartagena area of southern Spain.
According to state broadcaster TVE, one individual was seriously injured in the collision reported on Thursday.
Additionally, four others suffered minor injuries. Of these, two were transported to Santa Lucía Hospital for medical treatment, as confirmed by the Regional Ministry of Health.
While the exact cause of the crash remains unclear, preliminary investigations suggest the FEVE-operated train hit a crane during its journey.
The train, which was carrying 16 passengers, did not derail and remains on the tracks as fire and medical emergency teams work to assist those involved at the scene.
It came after Sunday’s deadly high-speed train collision in the southern Andalusia region that killed at least 43 people and another train accident in northeastern Catalonia on Tuesday, in which the train driver died.
Spanish rail operator Adif said on X that traffic on that line was interrupted due to ‘the intrusion into the infrastructure gauge by a crane not belonging to the railway operation’, without providing further detail.
The midday crash took place near Alumbres, Cartagena, southern Spain, on Thursday
The cause of the collision has not yet been determined, but it is believed the FEVE-operated train struck a crane while on its journey
The crane involved in the collision ‘was working in the area on maintenance tasks unrelated to the infrastructure, invaded the railway clearance, and hit the window of one of the train cars that covers the line between Cartagena and Los Nietos,’ a Murcia government official said.
Railway company Adif has said it is now attempting to gather information to determine why the crane was on that section of track during the time of the incident.
Spain’s rail network is already under scrutiny after a commuter train crashed near Barcelona just days after at least 43 people died and 152 were injured in a collision between two high-speed trains.
The second crash took place at around 9.00pm on Tuesday when a retaining wall collapsed onto the track near Gelida in the region of Catalonia in north-east Spain, derailing a local train.
A trainee driver, named as 27-year-old Fernando Huerta from Seville, was killed, and 41 people were injured, five of whom are in a critical condition.
It is believed the wall collapsed as a result of the unusually heavy rainfall that Catalonia is experiencing.
However, as a precaution, the region’s network was shut down pending inspections, stranding hundreds of thousands of people and causing chaos on the roads.
Earlier in the day, several people were injured, though none of them seriously, when a train on the Maresme coast north of Barcelona struck a rock on the track.
After a minor delay, the train was able to continue its journey.
The incidents sparked an urgent response from Spain’s largest train drivers’ union.
They have now called for an indefinite strike to demand assurances for the profession’s safety.
‘We are going to demand criminal liability from those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure,’ the Semaf union said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said it could not accept ‘the constant deterioration of the rail network’ and was calling for ‘urgent new measures’.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
