Four dead after runover by Rodalies commuter train north of Barcelona

Four people died after a runover by a Rodalies commuter train in Montmeló, north of Barcelona, on Sunday night. 

Renfe sources told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that a group of people crossed the rails at 8:22 pm through a non-authorized area between Parets del Vallès and Granollers-Canovelles train stations from the R3 commuter train line.

Overall, seven people crossed the rails, and while three were not injured, they had an anxiety crisis and were moved to the Mollet del Vallès hospital.

At the beginning, emergency services confirmed there were three dead, but a fourth one, with severe injuries, passed away due to a cardiorespiratory arrest.

The victims are three women and one man aged 19 to 22, as the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police director, Pere Ferrer, told media outlets on the ground in the early hours of Monday. He was accompanied by Pere Rodríguez, mayor of Montmeló, and other authorities.

The accident happened near the Circuit de Catalunya racing track, a zone close to an outdoor techno music festival where the victims were going.

The group had just arrived by train to the municipality and were going to the DURO festival, which saw around 15,000 to 16,000 attendees.

"We organized a team with specific access and customer service agents, but we understand that the group wanted to take a shortcut through an area that was not announced or lit," Pere Rodríguez said.

"We believe that the group did not know where they were going, and unfortunately, the train arrived," he added.

Although the rails are protected with some fences near the houses, the group crossed them from an area where there are no fences and there is a gap of around 50 centimeters in width.

"There is nothing on the other side," Rodríguez said while considering the most tragic events that occurred in the municipality in years.

Meanwhile, neighbors around the area said that it is quite normal to see visitors going to the Circuit de Catalunya or to nearby events to cross through that gap.

"When we left our home this morning, there were already a lot of people crossing through there, there are no restrictions, even though the path takes nowhere," Vicente Mayor, neighbor, said to media outlets.

Nine ambulances, a helicopter, three psychologists from the Catalan emergency system, and seven firefighter units were deployed to the area. Firefighters looked up for other victims in the area, but none others were found.

The train line was temporarily halted between Parets del Vallès and Granollers. Passengers on the R3 train were left waiting for up to two hours while authorities controlled the situation, no injuries were reported among the 170 passengers.

The police investigation is now part of a judicial case, and during the early hours of the night, police were not able to identify the victims, therefore they were not able to inform their families of the tragic news.

The Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, was "absolutely dismayed," as he wrote on social media X, previously known as Twitter, on Sunday late night. "It is a mortal tragedy that left us breathless," he added.

On a similar note, the Spanish acting transport ministry, Raquel Sánchez, gave her condolences to the families and their loved ones. As Aragonès, the minister, praised the work of the emergency units "under very difficult situations."