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20
Deadly derailment in Spain
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Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
Rescue workers are seen amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
Rescue workers sift through debris and sort out luggage the morning after a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
A crane removes a carriage from the tracks at the site of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
A crane removes a carriage from the tracks at the site of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
A crane removes a carriage from the tracks at the site of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
Rescue workers are seen amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
A crane removes a carriage from the tracks at the site of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
Rescue workers sift through debris and sort out luggage amongst wreckage the morning after a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
An official inspects the train engine amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Eloy Alonso)
Rescue workers and officials are seen amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
Firefighters watch as a crane removes a carriage from the tracks at the site of a train crash near near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Miguel Vidal)
A Spanish National Police officer checks the personal belongings of a victim amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, early July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Eloy Alonso)
Rescue workers stand amongst the wreckage of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Eloy Alonso)
Rescue workers help a victim of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain’s Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia. (REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de Galicia)
Rescue workers carry victims on stretchers after a train crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain’s Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia. (REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de Galicia)
Victims are helped by rescue workers after a train crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain’s Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia. (REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de Galicia)
Victims receive help after a train crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain’s Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia. (REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de Galicia)
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
Rescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
An injured passenger is helped by a policeman after a train crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. REUTERS/Oscar Corral
MADRID, (Reuters) – A judge investigating Spain’s worst train disaster in decades will question safety officials from state rail company Adif after finding basic precautions were not made, papers released on Tuesday showed.
The main cause of the accident, that killed 79 people in the northwestern region of Galicia last month, was the train’s excessive speed, judge Luis Alaez wrote in court documents.
But he had also decided to put safety officials at Adif under formal investigation, the papers said.
“There was an omission of elementary precautions by those whose mission it was to guarantee the safety of railway circulation on the line, which could constitute a punishable offence,” Alaez wrote.
The train derailed and slammed into a concrete wall on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela on July 24, after approaching a curve at more than twice the speed limit on that piece of the track.
Driver Francisco Garzon, 52, has been charged with negligent homicide and released without bail pending trial.
In a closed-door hearing before Alaez, Garzon admitted taking the curve too fast, blaming it on a momentary lapse, according to media reports.
Alaez, who is leading a pre-trial investigation of the crash, said those responsible for safety should have foreseen that human errors, caused by fatigue or habit, could pose a risk on what was known to be a difficult curve.
Given the lack of adequate automatic breaking systems that could work on that stretch of rail, safety officials should have taken better preventative measures, including break signs further away from the bend, the judge said.
Adif said it had not yet received an official request from the judge and did not know how many employees might be placed under investigation.
“Adif is collaborating and will collaborate with the judge,” its spokesman said.
Adif and train operator Renfe have also been asked to hand over technical reports and documents on security protocols, as well as internal audits and incident reports relating to the track where the accident happened.
Spain’s government has started a review of the safety of the whole rail system.
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