A PICTURE of the fractured rail joint believed to be at fault for Spain’s worst train crash in over a decade has been released.
Eight days ago, two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz, Cordoba in Spain’s deadliest rail accident since 80 people were killed in Santiago de Compostela in 2013.
A final total of 45 people died after the rear carriages on a Madrid-bound Iryo service carrying over 300 passengers crossed onto an adjacent line and collided with a separate train destined for Huelva.
Investigators probing the cause of the accident have turned their attention to infrastructure on the popular Madrid-Andalucia route, which typically accommodates millions of passengers every year.
An official preliminary report from the Commission for Investigation of Railway Accidents (CIAF) points the finger of blame at a broken track weld.
Investigators believe carriage number six of the Iryo service derailed after hitting a 30-centimetre fracture in the right-hand rail of the track.
The rear carriages of the high-speed train then invaded the opposite track before being struck by an oncoming train just seconds later.
A photo of the broken joint was posted on X by transport minister Oscar Puente after a report by Spanish newspaper El Mundo falsely reported that the piece of track responsible for the disaster had not been replaced since 1989.
Puente, a key ally of prime minister Pedro Sanchez, said: “Once again, a HOAX as big as a cathedral, and on the front page. Years go by and everything remains the same: tragedy, followed by disinformation.”
“The broken rail that caused the derailment is a new rail,” he noted, showing a receipt which showed that the piece of track, weighing 60kg per metre, was installed during May and June of last year.
He added: “STOP MISINFORMING! And let us work. We already have enough on our plate with clarifying this and solving the problems it brings, without having to constantly dedicate ourselves to debunking falsehoods.”
The investigation into the cause of the disaster continues.
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