BUENOS AIRES (MCT) — At least 49 people were killed and more than 600 injured Wednesday when a suburban train derailed at a station in central Buenos Aires, authorities said.
Police spokesman Nestor Rodriguez said one of the dead was a minor.
The number of dead may continue to rise because several of the injured are in critical condition and being treated in city hospitals, Alberto Crescenti, head of the city’s emergency health services, told reporters more than four hours after the accident.
Crescenti said there was no longer anyone trapped inside the train.
The train had entered Once station at 16 miles per hour, Argentine Transport Minister Juan Pablo Schiavi said. Arriving at 8:30 a.m., it reportedly was carrying about 2,000-rush hour commuters.
“We think there was a problem with the brakes,” Schiavi said.
Since it could not stop, the train apparently crashed into the shock absorbers at the end of the platform, causing the first two cars in the convoy to become entangled.
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