At least four killed in Spain train crash

At least four people were killed and a further 50 injured when a passenger train derailed in northwestern Spain on Friday. Rail operator Renfe told the press that one of the passengers brought to the hospital had life-threatening injuries. The train's Portuguese driver, a US passenger and two Spaniards were killed in the accident, AFP news agency reported.

One of them, a 23-year-old man, died in hospital, the regional government said. 27 other passengers were still in emergency care. Most of them were Spanish and Portuguese, but people from the US, Germany and Latin America were also present. In all, 63 people were traveling in the train, state rail company Renfe told journalists.

The train crashed near the town of O Porrino, in Spain's Galicia region. The mayor of O Porrino told the press that the cause of the crash had not yet been determined. Adif, a railway company in charge of tracks in Spain, said a investigation had been opened into the disaster.

Television footage from the accident showed the front rail car flipped onto its side and caught against an electricity pylon beside the track. Spanish media has reported that the train slammed up against a bridge as it came out of a curve.

The train was en route from the Spanish city of Vigo to Porto in neighboring Portugal and was carrying around 60 passengers. It belonged to the Portuguese rail company Comboios de Portugal.

An official announcement from the Galician regional government said the crash occurred at 9:30 am local time, and that emergency services had been immediately dispatched to the scene.

es/jil (AP, Reuters, dpa)