BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A packed train slammed into the end of the line in Buenos Aires' busy Once station Wednesday, injuring at least 340 morning commuters, Argentina's transportation secretary said.
"There are people still trapped, people alive, and there may have been fatalities. We don't know if there are dead people" in the wreckage, J.P. Schiavi told reporters at the station.
The commuter train came in too fast and hit the barrier at the end of the platform, smashing the front of the engine and crunching the first car behind it, according to reports.
CNN, citing witnesses' account to local media, said the train did not appear to brake or slow down.
The first car was where passengers had made space for bicycles. Survivors told the TeleNoticias channel that many people were injured in a jumble of metal.
Passengers said windows exploded as the tops of train cars separated from their floors.
Thousands stuck in train.
The trains are usually packed with people standing between the seats, and many were thrown to the floor by the force of the hard stop.
In September last year , nine people were killed and more than 200 injured in a crash in Buenos Aires involving two passenger trains and a bus.
In February last year, four people died and 120 were injured when a long distance train struck a suburban passenger train, according to the AFP news agency.
- AP
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