Photo: Train collision in Argentina (@pellegrini87)
President Cristina Fernandez’s administration has appointed a commission to investigate a railway accident that left three people dead and 315 injured, the Argentine government said Friday in the official gazette.
The panel’s scope “is independent of any judicial investigation initiated to determine possible (criminal) responsibilities, without prejudicing collaboration with the judiciary,” said a statement signed by Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo.
The accident occurred in Castelar, located 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) west of Buenos Aires, at 7:07 a.m. Thursday, when a commuter train headed for the city of Moron on the Sarmiento line hit an empty train that was stopped on the tracks.
Authorities are determined to improve the country’s troubled passenger rail service, Randazzo told Argentine radio on Friday.
“We will redouble the wager,” the minister said. “We work many hours every day to improve the service. Many, many things have been done, and that’s still not enough.”
The brakes on both trains involved in Thursday’s crash “were completely new,” he said, rejecting suggestions the accident was due to faulty equipment.
Twenty-five of the 315 people hurt remain hospitalized, including three who are in intensive care, according to the deputy health minister in Buenos Aires province, Sergio Alejandre.
The Sarmiento line was also the scene of a February 2011 accident that left 51 people dead and more than 600 injured.
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