Investigations continue into Spanish train crash

Investigations into the train crash in O Porrino which claimed four lives on Friday, continue on Tuesday with the examination of the train's black box, Spanish railway operator Renfe confirmed.

The accident involving a train run by Portuguese railway operator Combois on the route between Vigo (northwest Spain) and Porto in Portugal, killed three railway employees, including the driver, a trainee driver and a guard, as well as an American tourist.

Around 50 of the 63 people on board were injured, of which nine are still receiving treatment in Vigo for the injuries they suffered when the train came off the rails and crashed into the concrete base of a lighting tower outside the O Porrino station, shortly after changing onto a stretch of auxiliary track as the result of maintenance work on the main line.

The wagons remain in the place of the crash under police custody while investigations continue, with excessive speed thought to be a possible cause of the accident.

Whether that is the case would be made clearer when the black box is examined, because although Renfe explained it did not contain conversations in the cabin of the train or between the driver and the guard, it did record conversations between the driver and the control center in the city of Ourense.

The black box also has a record of the speed the train was travelling during its journey, and the signals it passed through and the distances involved, which should serve to give a clearer picture of what happened.

Following the accident, which happened at 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) local time, acting Spanish Public Works Minister Rafael Catala confirmed the train involved had undergone a routine check-up on the previous day and passed a thorough examination in May. Endit