Spain train crash survivor recalls move that saved her | World | News

A passenger on a train that derailed in Spain described the horror he experienced and a decision that could have saved his life. According to rail operator Adif, the tail end of an evening train from Malaga to Madrid with about 300 passengers on board derailed near Cordoba at 19.45 and crashed into a train with 200 passengers on board from Madrid to Huelva.

A passenger identified only as Lola was in the third carriage of the Alvia train from Huelva to Madrid, but moved to the fifth carriage to be with her friend. That’s when he felt intense braking, causing him to jolt “a few metres” and run out of power.

He told local SUR channel: “I was incredibly lucky because mine was completely ruined. I was thrown a few metres, and when I managed to get up everyone was screaming; it was pitch black.”

He added: “The two cars in front were blocking the tracks with people injured, bleeding and with broken legs.”

Lola remembered the panic when she went to find another friend who was in the first carriage but couldn’t locate her in the chaotic process.

He said: “He is one of the worst affected; we could not find him until we reached the field hospital. They told us he was alive, although both his legs were broken and he was taken to Reina Sofia Hospital.”

The distressed passenger said that the elderly could not get off the wagons and the children were trying to find their parents in the dark.

Lola said: “The road was a disaster; even the officers told us not to look left because there were deaths; we also had to watch out for power lines, and we were doing all this without seeing anything, not even a light.”

39 people died and 152 people were injured in the collision. Andalusian emergency services said 48 people remained hospitalized, including 11 adults and one in intensive care.