As reported by The Inquisitr on Wednesday , the train derailment in Spain may be due to higher than normal speeds.
A video taken by closed circuit television cameras installed on the tracks shows the moment of impact as the locomotive loses one of the carriages when it takes a sharp turn at high-speed.
CBS is reporting that the crash seems to be the result of high-speed and budget shortages facing the Spanish railroads. The crash occurred in the city of Santiago de Compostela.
According to authorities, the fast train is supposed to take the turn at 50 miles per hour. The media in Spain is widely reporting that the train was doing at least double that speed at the time of the derailment.
Seventy three people were found dead at the scene, with the rest of the victims passing away from their injuries at local hospitals. The number of injured stands at 141, some of them critically, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.
The train was carrying 218 passengers in eight carriages when it took the bend and made a left turn under an overpass late on Wednesday afternoon.
State Department officials confirmed that five American citizens were injured in the incident but has not received any reports of fatalities among US citizens.
CBS reports that one American has sent a message to family members stating the he is uninjured.
Even though Spanish authorities have not identified the reason for the train derailment, they are discounting terrorism, an official with the Interior Ministry said on condition of anonymity.
This is the deadliest train accident in Spain’s history since 1972 in which a train collided with a bus in southwestern Spain, killing 86 people and injuring 112.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was born in Santiago de Compostela, toured the crash scene Thursday with rescue workers and then went to a hospital to visit injured passengers.
July 24 marks the feast of St. James the Apostle in Spain, which is celebrated by many. The train derailment cast a dark cloud over the religious pilgrimage that takes place on this date.
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