Train crash in sa Pobla

Six people were injured, one seriously, yesterday when an Inca to Sa Pobla train came off the rails and crashed in to a concrete railway buffer, up-ending the 12-ton obstacle and coming to rest on top of the block. The accident occurred at 8.15 am and threw commuter service in to chaos. Yesterday morning's dense fog is believed to have been the cause of the accident. Fog caused problems at Palma airport with a number of flights between Palma, Barcelona and Madrid delayed. Eye witnesses in Sa Pobla said that the three-carriage train came hurtling out of the fog and careered in to the buffer at high speed shunting the concrete block from its foundations. The first carriage suffered serious damage - a complete write-off according to experts, while the other two, one of which was also derailed - escaped any severe damage. But at first, the train was the least of the emergency services' concerns and last night police and fire fighters said it was a miracle that no more than six people were hurt. Ticket inspector David Tirado, in the cab at the time of the accident, was rushed to Son Dureta hospital suffering from serious injuries along with a female passenger who suffered head injuries. Three other passengers were slightly injured, along with the train driver, but all were treated for shock at Muro Hospital. Within seconds of the accident, scores of local residents, many who live over-looking the station, were at the scene helping the injured. Within minutes, two police units were at the scene along with fire fighters from Inca and Can Picafort, the Guardia Civil and a fleet of ambulances. Manager of the SFM Majorca Railway Service, José Antonio Santos, said that the pulling carriage had been split in two by the impact and that over 100 million pesetas worth of damage has been caused. The railway company chartered a fleet of coaches to carry passengers between Inca and Sa Pobla while the crash scene was cleared and the line re-opened. Balearic President Francesc Antich and the Minister for Public Works, Francesc Quetglas, visited the scene yesterday to inspect the scene and be briefed by the emergency services about what happened.