Simon Hunter
FOUR YOUNGSTERS were killed in Barcelona on Sunday after they were hit by a Rodalies commuter train as they tried to cross the tracks. A further three people who were with the group were taken to hospital suffering from panic attacks after the incident.
Two of the victims were aged 22, another was 21 and the youngest was just 19.
The tragic incident took place between the Parets del Vallès and Granollers-Canovelles municipalities in Barcelona province, in the northwestern region of Catalunya.
The seven people were trying to cross the R3 line in an unauthorised area at around 8.20pm on Sunday evening, according to Spanish press reports.
They were doing so in an area where there was a bend in the track and very poor visibility. The train had no way of avoiding the impact and struck and fatally injured the four.
A total of seven fire crews, nine ambulances and a helicopter were despatched to the scene after the accident took place, as well as three psychologists to treat the survivors.
The group is thought to have been in attendance at a nearby techno festival named DURO, which was taking place at the nearby Circuit de Catalunya racetrack in Montmeló.
Caretaker Transport Minister Raquel Sanchez published a message on social network X (formerly Twitter) for the families of the victims.
“My condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased and my support to the emergency teams and services working in this very difficult situation,” she wrote.
A resident of the area told Spanish newspaper El Pais that locals had called on the authorities to put up fences around the area on more than one occasion due to the number of people who illegally cross the tracks.
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