Quick Stop in Argentina

"Argentine train slams into station, killing 49" Associated Press, February 23, 2012

BUENOS AIRES - A train packed with morning commuters slammed into a downtown station yesterday, killing 49 people and injuring hundreds as passenger cars crumpled and windows exploded around them. It was Argentina’s worst train accident in decades.

The cause was not yet determined, but many pointed to a deteriorating rail system. Some passengers reported signs the conductor was struggling with the brakes before the crash, saying he kept overshooting platforms and even missed one....

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"Argentines search for crash survivors" Associated Press, February 24, 2012

BUENOS AIRES - Argentines desperately searched hospitals yesterday in hopes that loved ones survived a train crash that killed 50 people and sent hundreds to emergency rooms. A stunned government declared two days of mourning, with flags flying at half staff.

A federal judge was leading an investigation of what caused the rush-hour commuter train to slam into a barrier at the end of the track at a downtown station, crumpling cars around 1,500 riders on Wednesday.

Passengers said the train’s motorman struggled repeatedly with the brakes during the journey, overrunning platforms and missing one station entirely before crashing at the end.

The nation’s auditor general and other critics said official inaction could have contributed to the accident, noting that the private Trains of Buenos Aires company failed to meet safety requirements despite years of warnings.

The motorman, Marcos Antonio Cordoba, 28, remained in intensive care yesterday and had yet to make a statement.

The city’s emergency medical director, Alberto Crescenti, praised rescuers, who had to use Vaseline and oil to pull the living and dead from a tangle of limbs and metal in the collapsed space. It took hours to separate the bodies of more than 100 people, living and dead, who were compressed into a few square feet.

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