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Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy walks next to a derailed car at the site of a train accident. (AP Photo/Lalo Villar)

Three days of mourning in Spain after deadly train crash

The driver is being question by Spanish police.

THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT has announced three days of official mourning after Wednesday’s train crash near Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which left at least 80 people dead and 130 injured.

Spanish Police are set to question one of the drivers of a train that derailed amid media reports it was travelling at twice the speed limit.

The driver, lightly injured, “would be questioned by police in hospital where he has been placed under surveillance,” the High Court in Galicia said in a statement.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore said there were no Irish citizens caught up in the disaster.

Renfe, the state railway company, has said it is too early to determine the cause of the tragedy.

Derailed cars are removed as emergency personnel work at the site of a train accident in Santiago de Compostela. (AP Photo/ Lalo Villar)

But secretary of state for transport Rafael Catala told radio station Cadena Ser that the early signs suggested the crash had been caused by the train going too fast.

According to several media reports, the train was going at twice the speed limit when it crashed near the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela late Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, a native of the city, announced the launch of two probes into the accident and declared three days of national mourning.

A local government official in the Galicia region said there were 80 confirmed dead, making it the deadliest rail accident since 1944 when hundreds were killed in a train collision, also between Madrid and Galicia.

- Additional reporting AFP, 2013

Related: Driver of Spanish train faces police probe>
More: Video: The terrifying moment when the high-speed train derailed in Spain>
Read: 77 dead, 143 injured in rail crash – “no indications” any Irish citizens were on board>

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5 Comments
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    Mute Football in the Groin
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    Mar 30th 2022, 10:12 AM

    Said they weren’t going to invade until they were blue in the face. They invaded. For several days in a row they said there would be channels of safety for civilians to evacuate. Each day they shelled civilians as they attempted to flee in these channels. Telling their citizens that the reason they are sending troops into Ukraine is to liberate them from Nazis. The Ukrainian President is Jewish. Not quite sure we can trust the Russians anymore for some reason.

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    Mute Jen Mc
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    Mar 30th 2022, 3:47 PM

    @Football in the Groin: did you trust Russians beforehand?

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    Mute Football in the Groin
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    Mar 30th 2022, 7:19 PM

    @Jen Mc: Honestly can’t remember putting much thought into it but in retrospect the constant poisonings should have raised a few red flags :)

    13
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    Mute Simbacat
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    Mar 30th 2022, 9:55 AM

    More staff should be sent home. Too many her for a country so small and that Russia could not care about !!!

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    Mute Ann Morris Doolan
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    Mar 30th 2022, 10:11 AM

    @Simbacat: exactly , how can it take 30 here and 4 in Moscow, get rid of all down to 4…

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    Mute Chris Linehan
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    Mar 30th 2022, 11:19 AM

    @Ann Morris Doolan: The small irish numbers in moscow are probably based on a few factors like the number of Irish citizens living in Russia, Irish businesses and interests operating in russia, staff who speak russian etc. In comparison to Ireland, the Russians could easily argue for having more staff. Whether they’re spies or not, is a different matter.

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    Mute Peter Willekens
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    Mar 30th 2022, 11:22 AM

    35 000 new homes are possible ¿±???? +????

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    Mute David Crosbie
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    Mar 30th 2022, 12:22 PM

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QxcB0PI4ZLg is this what we’re supposed to be supporting?

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    Mute John Black
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    Mar 30th 2022, 2:22 PM

    @David Crosbie: Top Tip- don’t use youtube as a news source.

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    Mute David Crosbie
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    Mar 30th 2022, 2:51 PM

    @John Black: TOP TIP: stop running after the pied piper

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    Mute Tom Cullen
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    Mar 30th 2022, 4:13 PM

    @David Crosbie: Using that to justify Russia’s invasion, is equivalent to showing a montage of IRA gatherings from the 80s and saying, makes sense that the British Military are levelling Cork. The pockets of extremist clowns on both sides is not representative of public opinion. Levelling cities, cutting off humanitarian efforts, displacing 10 million people and committing war crimes is in no way, shape or form justifiable. The situation in Ukraine, particularly the East, is closer to Northern Ireland than you think, but scaled up and with a blood thirsty dictator on one side.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Mar 30th 2022, 4:44 PM

    @David Crosbie: If you’re concerned about far right n@zi tendencies do some research into the Wagner Group, Putin’s de facto private army, who it’s founder is and why it’s called after Hitler’s favourite composer Wagner.

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    Mute BOT 4d4143204a6f686e446f65
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    Mar 30th 2022, 4:09 PM

    we are moving closer to WW3 …

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    Mute sean de paore
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    Mar 30th 2022, 5:00 PM

    Worryingly fully agree with Boris Johnson.
    The time for tipping around with Putin is long gone.

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    Mar 30th 2022, 5:49 PM

    @sean de paore: So why is borris still tipping around Putin? Nothing stopping him putting British troops in Ukraine except his fear of what Putin can do with nuclear weapons. So he’ll be tipping around while longer

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