Two subway trains collided between two stations on Saturday in Mexico City, killing at least one person and injuring 41, authorities said.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on her Twitter account that the accident occurred on Line 3 of the capital’s Metro, without specifying the cause of the collision between the Potrero and La Raza stations.
Sheinbaum said one woman was killed and 57 people were injured, who were taken to seven hospitals. Four people were trapped in the rubble for some time, including a train conductor, who was reported in serious condition. By late afternoon, the mayor said that 26 of the injured had been released.
A subway passenger, injured when two subway trains collided, is transferred by stretcher to a waiting ambulance, outside the Raza station in Mexico City, Saturday, January 7, 2023.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Dozens of police and soldiers invaded nearby metro stations, while ambulances and rescue teams arrived to treat the injured.
Edgar Montiel, an electrician on one of the trains, said he felt lucky because he had decided at the last moment to get into the penultimate car instead of the last car, which was wrecked in the crash.
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“It sounded very loud. I only closed my eyes when I felt the sheets of the car bend and throw me,” Montiel told The Associated Press.
A subway passenger, injured when two subway trains collided, waits to be transferred to a hospital in Mexico City, Saturday, January 7, 2023.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
He said that he remained on the floor of the car with several passengers in the midst of screaming and shouting for help.
“The power went out to the subway and a lot of smoke began to come out that was suffocating us. We couldn’t breathe well,” she said.
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Montiel, who had his left arm and shoulder bandaged, said the occupants of his car had to wait about 30 minutes for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured and help everyone out of the car.
Rescue teams inspect railway tracks after two subway trains collided, in Mexico City, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. Authorities announced that at least one person was killed and dozens injured in Saturday’s accident at the Line 3 of the capital metro.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Lamenting the accident, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on his Twitter account that the federal government is supporting city officials who deal with accidents.
In May 2021, an elevated section of the subway system collapsed, causing 26 deaths and injuring nearly 100. An investigation attributed the structural failure to deficiencies in the construction process, and 10 former employees have been charged with manslaughter, battery and property damage.
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The Mexico City metro system has 226.5 kilometers (141 miles) of tracks and 195 stations. It serves an average of 4.6 million passengers each day.
