Scottish Catholic Observer

According to latest reports, 77 people have died, and nearly 150 have been injured, in a train crash in northern Spain, including many pilgrims heading to the city of Santiago de Compostela.

All 13 train carriages carrying 218 passengers plus crew left the tracks and four carriages overturned completely (above) near the city where many Catholics were headed to take part in festivals to celebrate St James, the disciple of Jesus whose remains are said to rest in the cathedral there.

The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which is believed to contain relic of St James the Apostle, is the final destination for pilgrims travelling the Camino de Santiago, a famous pilgrimage route that stretches across northern Spain from the Pyrenees in France and has been in use since the Middle Ages.

City officials have cancelled the planned festivities in the aftermath of the crash.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was born in Santiago de Compostela, was heading to the scene of the crash today.

Although it was not immediately clear what had caused the crash, some passengers who walked from the scene (below) reported hearing an explosion before the train derailed. Spain’s Interior Ministry, however, quickly dismissed a terrorist attack as the cause of the derailment.

It is Spain’s deadliest train accident since 1972, when a train collided with a bus in south-western Spain, killing 86 people and injuring 112.

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