A packed commuter train slammed into a retaining wall at a railway terminus in Buenos Aires during rush hour Wednesday, leaving at least 49 dead, 550 injured, and dozens trapped in the wreckage. "The train was full and the impact was tremendous," a passenger identified only as Ezequiel told local television, adding that medics at the scene appeared overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.
Witnesses said passengers were hurled on top of each other and knocked to the floor "in the blink of an eye," some losing consciousness and others seriously injured. Civil defence officials said at least 550 people were injured in the crash, which witnesses said occurred after the train's brakes failed as it was arriving at a station on the western outskirts of Buenos Aires.
The toll surpassed the city's last major rail disaster just five months ago when two trains and bus collided during rush hour, killing 11 people and injuring more than 200. A dozen ambulances were dispatched to the scene, and officials said many passengers had suffered multiple fractures and abrasions.
At least 30 people were trapped in the twisted wreckage of the first and second cars of the train, Alberto Crescenti, the head of the city's emergency services office, said. The train's driver was injured but rescue workers pried him loose from the wreckage of his cabin. Local television showed images of him and several people being carried away on stretchers. The Sarmiento rail line, which links the center of Buenos Aires to a densely populated suburb 70 kilometers (44 miles) to the west of the city, uses rolling stock acquired in the 1960s.