DFA: No Pinoy casualties in Spain train crash so far
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there have been no reports yet of Filipinos being hurt in the train crash in Spain that killed 78 people.
In a text message to GMA News Online on Saturday, DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said, "
“Ambassador Carlos Salinas of our Philippine Embassy in Madrid informed DFA yesterday that based on information from local authorities, so far there are no reported Filipino casualties in the train accident in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.”
On Wednesday, at least 78 people were killed while another 131 were injured after a train was derailed from its track in Santiago de Compostela.
He added that, “The embassy continues to check with Spanish authorities to determine if there is any Filipino involved in the accident.”
Hernandez said the DFA has been getting information directly from the Philippine post in Madrid.
There are 51,960 overseas Filipinos in Spain based on the 2011 Stock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
Recklessness?
Spanish police were investigating on Friday if the driver of a train that crashed in Santiago de Compostela killing dozens had been driving at reckless speed when he took a tight curve, Reuters news agency said.
Spain's worst train accident in decades on Wednesday evening killed at least 78, with three bodies still unidentified and 81 people in hospital, raising questions about the experienced railwayman's actions.
The driver, Francisco Garzon, 52, was under arrest at a hospital in Santiago, the capital of the northwestern region of Galicia. He had been due to give a statement to police but local media reported he had declined to do so.
Garzon was being investigated for criminal behaviour in causing the accident and "recklessness", regional police chief Jaime Iglesias said.
A spokeswoman for Galicia's Supreme Court said Garzon had not yet been charged and evidence including from the train's "black box" data recorded was being assembled.
Renfe, the Spanish state train company, said Garzon was a 30-year company veteran who had been driving for a decade. He was highly qualified and had been driving on the line where the accident took place for about a year. The train was running on time when the crash occurred.
On the morning of the tragedy, he had driven a train on the same line, which connects the coastal city of La Coruna with Madrid, and a Renfe spokesman said he knew every twist and turn of the route.
Sharp curve
Spanish media have widely reported that Garzon took the sharp curve with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit at more than twice that speed. The driver was not available for comment and Reuters was not able to locate his family or his lawyer.
The head of the state track operator ADIF said on TV news that there was a sign warning drivers to slow 4 kilometers before the curve, which follows a section of high speed track.
However, another train driver on the line told Cadena Ser radio that the blame should not be put on his colleague.
"There is no safety warning for the speed, it's pure human factor, you have to slow down manually and you have no assistance in the cabin," said Manuel Mato. "When you exit the high-speed section you start slowing down ... you have like 4 km to the curve," he added. A high-speed train would cover that distance in less than a minute.
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia visited the injured in hospital on Friday as well as volunteers who helped in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The crash happened on the eve of the festival of St James, one of Jesus's 12 disciples, whose remains are said to rest in a Santiago shrine that draws huge numbers of pilgrims every year. Thousands of people were in town for the annual event, which was cancelled when officials declared a week of mourning.
Four foreigners were among the dead, from the United States, Italy, Mexico and Algeria.
Two safety systems
The train involved, made by Bombardier and Talgo, was a series 730 that Renfe uses for its Alvia service, which is faster than conventional trains but slower than AVE trains that criss-cross Spain at even higher speeds.
The train was built in 2007-2009, but remodelled in 2012.
The train is designed to operate on conventional and high-speed tracks that make use of two different types of safety systems that are meant to regulate excessive speed.
On high-speed lines, trains use the European Train Control System, or ETCS, which automatically slows down a train that is going too fast.
On slower lines, trains operate under an older system called ASFA, a Spanish acronym for Signal Announcement and Automatic Braking, which warns the driver if a train is moving too fast but does not automatically slow it down. - with a report from Reuters, VVP, GMA News
In a text message to GMA News Online on Saturday, DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said, "
“Ambassador Carlos Salinas of our Philippine Embassy in Madrid informed DFA yesterday that based on information from local authorities, so far there are no reported Filipino casualties in the train accident in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.”
On Wednesday, at least 78 people were killed while another 131 were injured after a train was derailed from its track in Santiago de Compostela.
He added that, “The embassy continues to check with Spanish authorities to determine if there is any Filipino involved in the accident.”
Hernandez said the DFA has been getting information directly from the Philippine post in Madrid.
There are 51,960 overseas Filipinos in Spain based on the 2011 Stock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
Recklessness?
Spanish police were investigating on Friday if the driver of a train that crashed in Santiago de Compostela killing dozens had been driving at reckless speed when he took a tight curve, Reuters news agency said.
Spain's worst train accident in decades on Wednesday evening killed at least 78, with three bodies still unidentified and 81 people in hospital, raising questions about the experienced railwayman's actions.
The driver, Francisco Garzon, 52, was under arrest at a hospital in Santiago, the capital of the northwestern region of Galicia. He had been due to give a statement to police but local media reported he had declined to do so.
Garzon was being investigated for criminal behaviour in causing the accident and "recklessness", regional police chief Jaime Iglesias said.
A spokeswoman for Galicia's Supreme Court said Garzon had not yet been charged and evidence including from the train's "black box" data recorded was being assembled.
Renfe, the Spanish state train company, said Garzon was a 30-year company veteran who had been driving for a decade. He was highly qualified and had been driving on the line where the accident took place for about a year. The train was running on time when the crash occurred.
On the morning of the tragedy, he had driven a train on the same line, which connects the coastal city of La Coruna with Madrid, and a Renfe spokesman said he knew every twist and turn of the route.
Sharp curve
Spanish media have widely reported that Garzon took the sharp curve with an 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit at more than twice that speed. The driver was not available for comment and Reuters was not able to locate his family or his lawyer.
The head of the state track operator ADIF said on TV news that there was a sign warning drivers to slow 4 kilometers before the curve, which follows a section of high speed track.
However, another train driver on the line told Cadena Ser radio that the blame should not be put on his colleague.
"There is no safety warning for the speed, it's pure human factor, you have to slow down manually and you have no assistance in the cabin," said Manuel Mato. "When you exit the high-speed section you start slowing down ... you have like 4 km to the curve," he added. A high-speed train would cover that distance in less than a minute.
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia visited the injured in hospital on Friday as well as volunteers who helped in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The crash happened on the eve of the festival of St James, one of Jesus's 12 disciples, whose remains are said to rest in a Santiago shrine that draws huge numbers of pilgrims every year. Thousands of people were in town for the annual event, which was cancelled when officials declared a week of mourning.
Four foreigners were among the dead, from the United States, Italy, Mexico and Algeria.
Two safety systems
The train involved, made by Bombardier and Talgo, was a series 730 that Renfe uses for its Alvia service, which is faster than conventional trains but slower than AVE trains that criss-cross Spain at even higher speeds.
The train was built in 2007-2009, but remodelled in 2012.
The train is designed to operate on conventional and high-speed tracks that make use of two different types of safety systems that are meant to regulate excessive speed.
On high-speed lines, trains use the European Train Control System, or ETCS, which automatically slows down a train that is going too fast.
On slower lines, trains operate under an older system called ASFA, a Spanish acronym for Signal Announcement and Automatic Braking, which warns the driver if a train is moving too fast but does not automatically slow it down. - with a report from Reuters, VVP, GMA News
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