At least 18 people were killed and about 50 others injured in a train-bus collision in Argentina early Sunday, authorities said.
The accident happened around 2:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) local time when a train crashed into a bus at a rural Argentine rail crossing near Dolores, about 200 kilometers south of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, the official Telam news agency reported.
The bus, with 61 passengers and two drivers onboard, was traveling from Buenos Aires to the South Atlantic beach resort of Mar del Plata, authorities said.
Most of the victims were on the bus and authorities had no reports of injuries aboard the train so far, police said.
The victims were rushed to area hospitals with multiple injuries. At least 15 people, including a 20-year-old woman, died on the spot, while three others expired at the hospital, police added..
Nine of the victims remained in critical condition, Roberto Capiel, a public health official, told Telam.
"It's a tragedy. We are giving priority to the most seriously injured," Capiel said.
Some reports said the bus driver drove through the crossing's lowered safety barriers when the crash occurred and the train cut the bus in half, while the bus company said the cause of the accident was not clear.
The two drivers of the bus were placed under detention as authorities investigate the accident, police said.
Television pictures showed the train partially derailed and the bus virtually destroyed with part of its roof ripped off.
Most passengers of the train were put on buses bound for the train's destination.
Source:Xinhua
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