Location Flores, Buenos Aires Type of incident Collision Number of deaths 11 Operator Trenes de Buenos Aires Trains 2 (and 1 bus) | Rail line Sarmiento Line Date 13 September 2011 Country Argentina Injuries 228 | |
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Cause Bus driver ignored level crossing warning signals Similar Benavidez rail disaster, 2012 Buenos Aires rail, Santiago de Compost | ||
The 2011 Flores rail crash occurred at 06.23 ART on 13 September 2011 when a bus on a level crossing at Flores rail station, in the Flores barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was hit by a train on the Sarmiento Line, heading for Moreno.
Contents
The Train
The train, operated by Trenes de Buenos Aires, derailed and crashed into a second train, heading for Once in the Balvanera barrio, which was standing at the station. The accident, which occurred during the morning rush hour, resulted in 11 deaths and 228 injuries. The bus, owned by Empresa de Transportes Microomnibus Saenz Peña, was working a scheduled service on route 92, heading for Retiro. Video evidence revealed that the bus driver, who was killed in the accident, ignored warning lights and drove around a partly lowered crossing barrier.
Impact
The impact carried the bus into the station, where it was crushed against a platform. The front carriages of the train derailed, and hit the Once train, which was arriving at the opposite platform. It took firefighters two hours to release one of the train drivers from the wreckage. A total of 100 ambulances and 10 fire engines attended the incident, and some of the injured were ferried to hospital by helicopter. At the time, it was the deadliest rail crash within the city since the Villa Soldati level crossing tragedy in 1962.