As Spain mourned the 80 dead in Europe's worst rail crash this century, questions were being asked about how the train had been able to hit a tight curve at such a speed that it spun off into a concrete security wall. Analysis of video of the accident in the northern city of Santiago de Compostela suggested the train was going faster than 85mph on a bend where drivers are supposed to slow down after a straight stretch that allows them to reach up to 125mph. "We were going strongly when we got into the curve," one driver was reported to have admitted shortly after surviving the accident on Wednesday, which killed more than a third of the passengers and left 168 injured. A spokeswoman for the Galicia supreme court said the driver, who was only slightly injured, was under investigation. The man, who has been named, is not believed to be under arrest but is expected to face questions from a judge with access to the train's data recording black box.
While trapped in the cab, the driver was reported to have given an account over the radio to officials at Santiago station. He was quoted saying, "I hope there are no dead because they would fall on my conscience" and having repeated over and over: "We're human. We're human." Rail safety experts said such accidents are usually the result of more than one failure, and questions will inevitably be asked about how warning signals about the train's speed were not picked up and acted on. On Thursday evening the death count looked set to creep up, with 36 of the 95 victims in hospital said to be in a critical condition. One of the survivors, Sergio Prego, told Cadena Ser radio station that the train "travelled very fast" just before it derailed and the cars flipped upside down, on their sides and into the air. "I've been very lucky because I'm one of the few able to walk out," he said.
Forensic scientists were last night still trying to identify the most mutilated corpses. Groups of families and friends gathered at the city's Cersia hospital waiting for news of loved ones – though there was little chance they were alive as all survivors had been identified and their families informed.
"It's a major challenge to identify the people who have died," Rajoy said. "Unfortunately, in many cases, this isn't easy, but we are very conscious that the families cannot live in a state of uncertainty." The Alvia 730 series train started from Madrid and was scheduled to end its journey at Ferrol, about 60 miles north of Santiago. Alvias do not go as fast as Spain's AVE bullet trains, but still reach 155mph on AVE tracks and travel at a maximum 137mph on normal gauge rails. The accident came a day before a public holiday in Galicia: the feast of St James, after whom the region's capital Santiago is named. "24 July will no longer be the eve of a day of celebration but rather one commemorating one of the saddest days in the history of Galicia," said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the region's president. Residents of the semi-rural neighbourhood by the accident site struggled to help victims out of the toppled cars on Wednesday night. Some passengers were pulled out of broken windows as rescuers used rocks to try to free survivors from the wreckage.
6 comments:
The French are always massively gloomy - having lived here for 25 years now, I can say that an optimistic Frenchman is an oxymoron. When my husband starts complaining, my kids tell him, "you sound so French!"
What I have noticed lately is a slew of small businesses springing up around our city, run by immigrants, mostly from Africa - and the Africans always seem to have a wide smile and loads of enthusiasm. I can only hope they resist the French 'gloom and doom' mentality.
Having spent a lot of time in France recently I'm not sure where these people are who have increased confidence, everyone I spoke to over there is massively gloomy about their prospects and beyond frustrated with Hollande
1. The problem of Europe's unemployed isn't what Draghi has to say, but finding a job. What Draghi says is for banksters.
2. What you can believe and what you can't believe is anyone's guess and that counts just as well for all the sources that keep predicting the Euro's demise. The number of vested interests in "the markets" is uncountable.
3. The shining building isn't even ready and other printing presses are running at quite some more revolutions per minute.
4. "Weimar" was a completely different thing.
I just wonder how many European unemployed, soon to be unemployed or under employed believe the bullshit propoganda Brussells and the ECB pump out everyday.
I also wonder how long Draghi will be sat on top of his new billion Euro building in Frankfurt with its shiny new printing presses before the whole lot comes crashing down.
Come to think about it WEIMAR is just up the road!
GERMANY wanted a “drastic haircut” on bank deposits, and “some EU quarters” sought the destruction of Cyprus as a financial centre”, former finance minister Michalis Sarris said yesterday.
Testifying again before a committee of inquiry, the ex-economy chief said Cyprus had virtually no friends at the first Eurogroup meeting in March as it fought in vain against a proposal to tax both insured and uninsured savers.
…
“They [the Germans] wondered how such a small country, like Cyprus, with no industrial output, could have such prosperity.”
Cyprus’ lenders also refused a request by the government to bring to the negotiating table representatives of the Cypriot banks.
The former minister reiterated that the raid on insured deposits was the brainchild of the Europeans.
“This illegality was theirs,” he said.
At the first Eurogroup, the Cypriot delegation tried to argue that taxing people’s savings amounted to theft of property, and was in breach of both the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
But according to Sarris’ account, in a display of cynicism and ruthlessness our European partners countered that “constitutions are drafted and can be modified.”
The troika’s response was that countries’ individual arrangements are not their concern, he said.
Folks who are just slightly overweight but have resolved to lose weight in the new year may give their plans second thoughts in the wake of a controversial new federal analysis.
People who are overweight by up to 30 or so pounds have a slightly lower risk of early death than those at a normal weight, the government analysis finds.
The review of 97 studies showed that people who are extremely obese -- roughly 60 or more pounds over a normal weight -- have a greater risk of dying early than those who are at a normal weight.
About two-thirds of people in the USA are too heavy; a third are obese, which is roughly 35 or more pounds over a normal weight. Obesity is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many types of cancer.
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