Second deadly crash in Spain as train smashes into collapsed wall

A commuter train near Barcelona plowed into the rubble of a collapsed wall on Tuesday, killing one and injuring dozens in Spain's second deadly rail accident in days. 

The latest incident will raise more questions about Spanish transport safety, coming two days after the collision of two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia killed 42 people – the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.

On Tuesday, "a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks, causing an accident involving a passenger train" in the municipality of Gelida, around 40 kilometers west of Barcelona, the Catalonia region's civil protection agency said.

The northeastern region's Interior Minister, Nuria Parlon, said one passenger had died and 37 were injured – five seriously.

Spanish rail infrastructure operator Adif said a storm caused a wall to fall, creating the rubble that the train slammed into. Catalan commuter trains have been suspended.

Earlier on Tuesday, Spain's king and queen visited the site where two high-speed trains collided on Sunday as well as survivors of the accident that injured more than 120 people, 37 of whom are still in hospital. 

The country's deadliest rail accident in more than 12 years took place when a train operated by rail company Iryo, traveling from Malaga to Madrid, derailed near Adamuz in the southern Andalusia region.

It crossed onto the other track, where it crashed into an oncoming train heading to the southern city of Huelva, which also derailed.

Sunday's derailment was Spain's deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.

Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings, television anchors wore black, and cabinet ministers curtailed public appearances as Spain observed the first of three days of national mourning.

Railway probe 

The government has vowed a full and transparent investigation into the cause of the accident.

Spanish media report that the probe is focusing on a crack more than 30 centimeters long in the track at the site of the accident. The crack may have resulted from "a poor weld or a weld that deteriorated due to train traffic or weather", newspaper El Mundo reported, citing unidentified technicians with access to the inquiry.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said investigators were looking to see if a broken section of rail was "the cause or the result" of the derailment. He said the Iryo train was "practically new" and the section of track where the disaster happened had been recently renovated, making the accident "extremely strange".

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said "the possibility of sabotage was never considered" and that "there has never been any element suggesting otherwise."

The head of state rail operator Renfe, Alvaro Fernandez Heredia, said human error has "been practically ruled out".

Rail operator Adif on Tuesday also imposed a temporary 160 kph speed limit on parts of the high-speed line between Madrid and Barcelona after train drivers reported bumps.