| Altamirano rail disaster | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | February 1, 1970 |
| Time | 20:15 |
| Location | Benevidez |
| Country | Argentina |
| Operator | FCGBM |
| Type of incident | Rear collision |
| Cause | failure to protect stopped train |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Passengers | 1200 |
| Deaths | 142-236 |
| Injuries | 368 |
The Benavidez rail disaster, which occurred on February 1, 1970 is the worst ever rail disaster in Argentina; it left at least 142 dead and 368 injured[1].
The accident happened in an isolated area in dim light near Benavidez station, between Ing Maschwitz and Pacheco[2] eighteen miles north of Buenos Aires. A twenty-one carriage mixed passenger and freight[3] express operated by the state-owned Ferrocarril General Bartolomé Mitre, hauled by two diesel locomotives and carrying 500 passengers was nearing the end of its 1,000 mile journey from Tucumán to Retiro railway station in Buenos Aires[4] and had just passed Benevidez[5]. Ahead of it a ten carriage local train was carrying 700 passengers home to the capital after spending a weekend in fashionable Zárate on the banks of the Paraná River but had come to a halt due to 'fuel injector trouble'[6]. Despite being stopped for 40 minutes as they tried to fix the problem[5] the crew of the local train failed to provide protection and at 20:15 [7] the express ran into the back of it at a speed of 65 mph. The two diesel locomotives 'totally destroyed' the rear car and telescoped the next car through almost the entire length of the third from rear car, pushing it 80 yards down the track[4], though some passengers managed to jump clear. All the deaths and major injuries were aboard the local train.
The pilot of an aeroplane radioed a control tower who in turn notifieed emergency services. Air-force helicopters were used to bring medical supplies. An emergency hospital was established at Pacheco station, five miles north of the accident site, and temporary morgues were set up at Pacheco and Benavidez.
Survivors quoted in The Times said 'We saw mutilated bodies everywhere', there was 'blood all over the place, the soldiers were just filling sacks with severed limbs'[6].
In all 142 people were killed and 368 injured, though some sources put the death toll at 'over 200'[2][8] and others quote the figure 236[4]
After the accident Asi, a popular weekly magazine published a 32-page articled including gory photographs of the train crash and as a result was closed indefinitely by the Argentine government[9]
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