The cause of a train crash which tragically took the lives of 45 people when a high-speed train in Spain derailed has been revealed.
A fracture in the rail appeared to have occurred before the high-speed train derailed in southern Spain last Sunday, according to a preliminary report published by the rail accident investigating body CIAF on Friday.
The collision in Adamuz, Cordoba province on Sunday killed 45 people, making it one of Europe’s worst train accidents.
The incident occurred when a first train, belonging to private firm Iryo, derailed and crashed into another oncoming high-speed train, belonging to the state-owned rail company Renfe.
The CIAF report, shared on the body’s website, reads: "Based on the information available at this time, it can be hypothesised that the rail fracture occurred prior to the passage of the Iryo train involved in the accident and, therefore, prior to the derailment."
The causes for the breakage are yet to be established, CIAF said, and nothing had been ruled out.
It was previously reported that investigators had identified a broken joint on the rail track in an exclusive report shared by Reuters on Tuesday.
Uniform notches were found on several of the wheel treads on the right-hand side of the Iryo train by investigators, according to the report.
These marks were consistent with the wheels striking the top of a rail.
A visual comparison indicated that the wheel notches were a match with damage seen on the broken rail section at the derailment site, the report added.
CIAF shares that it had discovered similar wheel damage on other trains that travelled through the area before the crash.
The investigating body added that the findings are yet to be confirmed by further calculations and analysis.
The crash is one of three this week in Spain that have sparked serious concerns about the state of the country’s rail network.
On Tuesday night, a train crashed on a commuter line near Barcelona in which the driver was killed.
Then, on Thursday, a commuter train crashed in southeastern Spain, slightly injuring six passengers.
