Imagine what a rush it would be traveling alongside the Civil Guard and passing them so that their speed traps go off he wrote in all capitals. Hehe that would be quite a fine for Renfe hehe referring to his employer the Spanish rail company.
The train driver Francisco Jos Garz n Amo a veteran with more than three decades of experience was arrested on Friday and investigators were examining records from the train s black box or data recorder to determine how it smashed into a curved wall and careered off the track on Wednesday killing 78 people and leaving dozens injured.
On Friday Jaime Iglesias a national police force commander in Galicia said the authorities had the black box data from the train which was traveling between Madrid and Ferrol in northwestern Spain and crashed outside Santiago de Compostela. But he could not say how long it would take to determine the cause of the crash one of Europe s worst recent rail disasters or to verify reports that the train was traveling at twice the speed limit.
Mr. Iglesias said the death toll had been revised down to 78 from 80 after the identification of bodies. Those killed include an American an Algerian and a Mexican he said.
The American was identified as Ana Maria Cordoba by the Catholic Diocese in Arlington Va. which said she worked there. The Catholic News Service said the Cordobas son Santiago had just completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and that Mrs. Cordoba her husband and daughter were en route to meet him.The husband and daughter are reportedly in stable condition.
As seen in a chilling video from a security camera the passenger train rounded a curve at high speed on Wednesday night tumbling violently off the track slamming against a curved wall and piling up in a twisted wreck.
On Thursday Spanish news media reported that the driver had said the train s speed had been about 120 miles per hour more than double the limit in the stretch of track where the train derailed. On the day of the wreck he took over from another driver just 60 miles before the crash according to Spanish news reports.
The train was almost full carrying more than 200 passengers and merrymakers returning to the region for a special holiday on Thursday. July 25 is the feast day for St. James the Apostle the patron saint of Spain who for centuries has inspired pilgrims to walk El Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James. The pilgrimage has had a burst of popularity in recent years drawing walkers from around the world.
After the crash the city of Santiago de Compostela canceled its extensive celebration and the authorities urged people to donate blood. Thousands made a very different kind of pilgrimage to the site of the disaster watching as rescuers used cranes and trucks to hoist the engines of the wrecked train. All children teenagers and older people stood in funereal silence.
Nearby in a building where an information center had been set up police officers kept the victims families from the public eye. Some walked around the building in tears hugging and comforting one another while others grew frustrated waiting to see their loved ones.
Now at 9 30 p.m. is when they allowed us to go and see our family member said Mar a a relative of a victim who did not want her full name used. Twenty four hours waiting in these conditions. That s too much.
Most high speed lines that are part of the European rail traffic system are covered by a GPS based surveillance network that constantly monitors trains speed and automatically brakes them at speed limits.
Silvia Taul s reported from Santiago de Compostela and Doreen Carvajal from Paris. Stephen Castle contributed reporting from London and Caroline Brothers from Paris.
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