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Argentine train crash kills 49 people, hurts 600
BUENOS
AIRES: A packed commuter train plowed into the buffers at a Buenos Aires station
during morning rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least 49 people and injuring
more than 600 others, officials said.
They said the train was unable to stop, presumably due to faulty brakes, and
it slammed into the buffers inside the centrally located "Once"
station. More than 800 passengers were aboard the train, state news agency
Telam reported.
A police spokesman said 49 people had been killed.
"The train entered the Once station at 26 kilometers per hour (16 mph)...
we suppose there was some flaw in the brakes," Transport Secretary Juan
Pablo Schiavi was quoted as telling Telam.
Hundreds of thousands of people travel into Argentina's capital from the suburbs
every day. The dilapidated and overcrowded rail services, run by private companies
and heavily subsidized by the state, are plagued by accidents and delays.
In September, two commuter trains crashed into a city bus, killing 11 people.
And one year ago, four people died during another train accident.
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