[NEWS] Two dead and six seriously injured when a high-speed train derails in Portugal

[YaKuZa--BoSs]

The accident occurred when the convoy collided with a catenary revision vehicle. Another twenty people have suffered wounds of various kinds. Portuguese President Rebelo de Sousa presents his "condolences to the relatives and friends of the fatalities"

 

 

At least two people have been killed and six serious injuries this Friday, in the derailment of a passenger train near Soure, in central Portugal, as reported by the country's Civil Protection.

Another 20 people have been slightly injured, reports Efe. The high-speed train has derailed after colliding with a catenary overhaul and maintenance vehicle.

The train accident, which carried 212 passengers on board, occurred at 15:30 in the town of Soure, 30 kilometers from Coimbra. Soure Mayor Mario Nunes has claimed that the two fatalities were working on the rails when the accident occurred, Reuters reports. The train driver is among the most seriously injured.

The Alfa Pendular high-speed convoy connects Lisbon to Braga, in the north of the country, and has stops in Coimbra and Porto, the main Portuguese cities, reports France-Presse. The train can reach 220 kilometers per hour, although local media suggest that it was slower, since it had made a recent stop, according to Efe.

An important device has been mobilized, with more than 220 rescue and firefighters and two helicopters, to secure and evacuate the victims. The spokesperson for the Coimbra Rescue Operations Committee has stated that more rescue teams are arriving at the scene and that a field hospital has been erected at the scene of the accident to initially care for those affected, who are then transferred to the Coimbra University Hospital.

The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has presented his "condolences to the relatives and friends of the fatalities", and has described the events as "a serious accident", in a message published on the Presidency website.