Barcelona: Train driver killed, several injured after train derails

(Patria) - Local media report that a train driver was killed and at least fourteen people were injured after a commuter train derailed near Barcelona, the BBC reported late last night.

According to local officials, the Rodalies train struck a retaining wall that fell onto the tracks between Gelida and Sant Sadurní on Tuesday evening.

Emergency services are currently assessing the severity of the injuries sustained by passengers.

The incident occurred during severe storms in northeastern Spain. Many coastal areas in the east and northwest of the country are on high alert due to weather conditions. There have also been snowstorms in the Spanish Pyrenees and storms along the coast of Menorca, causing waves several meters high.

Eleven ambulances were at the scene in Gelida, Catalonia, about 35 km west of Barcelona, providing assistance to the injured, emergency services said.

The local fire service said 35 crews were sent to the area and that one passenger trapped in the train was rescued. A later update stated that no one remained inside and that their crews are searching the area to rule out further casualties.

Emergency services said they evacuated some of the injured to nearby hospitals.

The accident in Catalonia occurred two days after two high-speed trains collided in Adamuz, Andalusia, in one of Spain's worst rail accidents in more than a decade.

At least 42 people are known to have died after the carriages of a train heading for Madrid derailed and crossed onto the opposite tracks, then collided with an oncoming high-speed train.