BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – A train packed with morning commuters slammed into a downtown station Wednesday, 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 wasn’t immediately determined, but many pointed to a deteriorating rail system. Some passengers reported signs that the conductor was struggling with the brakes before the crash, saying he kept overshooting platforms and missed one entirely.

The dead included 48 adults and one child. Some 600 people were injured, including 461 who were hospitalized, said Transportation Secretary J.P. Schiavi.

Hours after the crash, passengers’ relatives gathered at the morgue, anxious for word of their loved ones.

Speaking at a news conference, Schiavi defended the rail system’s maintenance record.

“It was an accident like those in many other countries,” he said, pointing to a newspaper clipping about a fatal crash in Los Angeles. “In recent years, we’ve made huge investments” in the system.

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As Schiavi spoke, riot police faced off against angry passengers in the closed Once station, where emergency workers spent hours extracting dozens of people trapped inside the train’s first car. Rescuers had to slice open the roof and set up a pulley system to ease them out one by one. Dozens of the injured were lined up on stretchers on the station platform.

The 28-year-old conductor, who survived the crash, was apparently well-rested, Schiavi said, having just begun his workday. The motorman was hospitalized in intensive care and hasn’t given a statement, Schiavi said.

A labor union official said the train appeared to be in good working order. “This machine left the shop yesterday and the brakes worked well. From what we know, it braked without problems at previous stations. At this point I don’t want to speculate about the causes,” union chief Ruben Sobrero told Radio La Red.

Schiavi said the train was recorded slowing from about 30 mph to 12 mph about 40 meters before the impact. “We don’t know what happened in those final 40 meters,” he said.

 

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