1956 Santiago rail crash
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| 1956 Santiago rail crash | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | February 14, 1956 8:12 a.m |
| Location | Santiago |
| Country | Chile |
| Line | Santiago - Cartagena |
| Operator | Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado |
| Incident type | rear collision |
| Cause | Signal passed at danger |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 23 |
| Injured | 198 |
The 1956 Santiago rail crash occurred on February 14, 1956, at 8:12 a.m. near the Chilean capital Santiago on the branch to Cartagena and killed 23 people.[1]
Two trains left the capital twelve minutes apart, seven kilometres into their journeys, the second train ran into the back of the first; destroying a wooden, third-class carriage. Twenty-three people were killed and 198 injured. President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo ordered an immediate enquiry; the driver of the rear train was found to be at fault.
The accident happened just seven months after a very similar accident at San Bernardo twenty kilometers south of the city killed 38 people.