Queronque rail accident

The Queronque rail accident was a head-on train collision that happened on February 17, 1986, on the line between Santiago and Valparaíso in Chile. It is the worst in Chilean history, killing at least 58 people.[1]

Queronque rail disaster
Details
DateFebruary 17, 1986
19:45
LocationLimache, Marga Marga Province
CountryChile
LineSantiago - Valparaíso
OperatorEFE
Incident typeHead-on collision
Causehuman error
Statistics
Trains2
Passengers1000
Deaths58+
Injured510, 111 serious

Collision

The accident happened in the Marga Marga Province of Valparaíso Region, between Peñablanca and Limache stations on a sharp curve. Both of the trains involved were three-carriage electric AES units and were carrying around a thousand people in total. The accident happened at 19:45 when the 17:30 from Los Andes to Valparaiso collided head on with a train travelling from Valparaiso to Mapocho Station in Santiago.[2] The front carriages embedded themselves in each other for a distance of five metres, killing those at the front of both trains.[3]

Cause

Repair work to a bridge damaged in a terrorist attack by the FPMR[4] six months previously meant that a single line was used for trains travelling in both directions.[5] In addition, the signalling on the line dated from 1928 and had developed a fault a few days before the accident.[3] But the accident was primarily blamed on the stationmaster at Limache, who should have held the train from Los Andes until the train from Valparaiso had passed.[6] Theft of telephone cabling meant that the phone link between stations was not working,[7] and it was over an hour before rescue teams arrived at the scene of the accident.[4] The rescue efforts continued until 11:30 the following morning; an emergency hospital room was set up on the platform at Limache station; its speakers were used to ask for blood donors to come forward.[3]

Death toll

The official figures state that 58 people were killed and 510 injured, 111 of them seriously.[6] However, some sources state the fatality figure to be much higher, 110[5] and a recent video documentary puts it at 200.[8]

Response

Dictator Augusto Pinochet visited the injured in hospital shortly after the incident and pledged compensation to those affected similar to that in place for road accident victims.[3]

As a result of the tragedy, the train service between Santiago and Valparaiso was suspended, only resuming in 1992 with the installation of radio communications in the trains.[3] The line is now operated by MERVAL, the Valparaiso region metro system.

References

  1. Trenes sobre rieles: Tragedias en la via
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Accidente de Queronque
  3. Queronque: 20 años después
  4. Tragedia Ferroviaria de Queronque
  5. http://www.elbombero.cl/foro/showthread.php?p=184913 A 24 Años de la Tragedia de Queronque
  6. http://ferrocarrillimache.blogspot.com/2009/06/tragedia-de-queronque.html Tragedia de Queronque
  7. http://www.trenchile.com/smf/index.php?topic=1718.0 Queronque según Las Últimas Noticias...
  8. Documental revive tragedia ferroviaria

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