Chinchilla train collision

The Chinchilla train collision occurred on June 3, 2003, when a passenger train and a freight train collided on the Cartagena-Albacete line in the Castilian-Manchego municipality of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón, Albacete, Spain. The accident resulted in 19 deaths and around 50 wounded.[1]

Chinchilla train collision
Details
Date	3 June 2003 21:40
Location	Chinchilla de Montearagón, Spain
Country	Spain
Operator	RENFE
Incident type	Train collision
Cause	Human error
Statistics
Trains	2
Deaths	19
Injured	50

Victims

Initially, it was estimated that 16 people were dead (five engineers from the two trains involved) along with 10 missing and 39 wounded. After the rescue, it was found that a total of 19 people were killed and 65 others injured.[2]

Judicial process

Station master José Luis D. C. was convicted in 2006 of 19 counts of professional reckless homicide and 48 counts of professional reckless injury. He was sentenced to two years of prison and four years of absolute disqualification (which disqualifies a convict from holding public office or employment, and disallows a convict to obtain government grants, scholarships, or any public aid).[3]

References

1. Verdad, La. "«¡Si me escuchas, detén el Talgo!»".
2. Identificadas las 19 víctimas del accidente ferroviario de Chinchilla
3. País, Ediciones El (5 June 2006). "Dos años de cárcel para el jefe de estación de Chinchilla por el choque con 19 muertes de 2003".