Probe into Spain train crash turns to missing ‘bogie’ found in stream
Investigators examine a ‘bogie’ – the train’s wheel and suspension unit – found 300 metres away, believing it holds the key to the derailment
A large piece of metal found near the site of a high-speed train crash in Spain may be the missing chunk of undercarriage that investigators have been searching for to find the cause of the accident, a source and experts said on Wednesday.
The crash, one of Europe’s biggest, happened on Sunday night near the southern town of Adamuz in a remote hilly area, killing at least 42 people.
Inaki Barron, the head of Spain’s railway accident investigating body CIAF, said on Monday that the investigation would focus on a missing part, known as a bogie, due to its importance as the key point of contact between the speeding train and the tracks and that it could shed light on the cause of the derailment.
Reuters photographs from Tuesday showed the piece lying partly submerged in a small stream to the side of a railway bridge some 15 metres (49 feet) below the train tracks and some 300 metres (984 feet) from the crash site.
A spokesperson for the Civil Guard police force told Reuters by phone from Adamuz that the piece had been spotted by search teams using drones earlier in the week and had now been physically examined by investigators, adding: “We will look at it to determine what it is.”
“Due to its size and weight, it has been left in the place it was found and has not yet been collected.”
Bogie flew out like a bullet, source says
A source briefed on the probe said the component was believed to be a so-called bogie – the train’s wheeled undercarriage – that belonged to the first train that derailed, operated by private consortium Iryo.