Matanzas/A railway accident occurred on Wednesday around 2:30 in the afternoon in Matanzas has put the deterioration of the Cuban rail infrastructure in evidence. The event took place in a stretch near the Las Cuevas de Bellamar road, when the Guantanamo-La Habana national train suffered the derailment of seven of its cars, four of which were completely separated from the rest of the convoy. Despite the magnitude of the fact, only three people were slightly injured, as confirmed by medical and sector sources.
According to Rafael Roldán Simón, veteran crew member With more than 30 years of service, the driver detected in time the bad road conditions and activated the emergency brake according to the established protocols. “Thanks to that fast reaction, the cars did not turn around,” he explained. The affected section covers approximately 200 meters of railroad, which caused the interruption of rail traffic through the central line, one of the most important in the country. Authorities estimate that repair work will take at least 24 hours.
Injured people are under observation and out of danger
Among the injured are two ferromozas and a passenger. Lusmery Yedra Flores, native to Havana, was crushed by a group of passengers that fell on her during derailment. Noelis Walwyn, also Ferromoza, suffered a sudden increase in blood pressure after a slight blow. The third injured person was identified as Amnelis Rodríguez González, a passenger from Camagüey, who suffered a fall that caused blows to the head and elbow. The three were attended at the Provincial Hospital Surgical Clinical Teacher Faustino Pérez, where they are under observation and out of danger.
Gretel Robaina Rodríguez, deputy director of Medical Assistance of the Hospital, confirmed that “none of the injured presents a danger to their life” and that all evolve favorably. Subsequently, he joined the group of patients Dairs Espinosa Samora, Havana passenger who presented discomfort when descending from the train and was admitted by caution, although without signs of serious injuries.
/ Girón
Ana Moreno, Ferromoza del Carie Seven, described the moment of the accident as “a big scare.” He thanked the calm and discipline of passengers during the incident. “I felt a grinding of irons and sudden movements. We were already attentive to the descent of the travelers who were going to get off in killing,” he said. According to Moreno, the separation of the last four cars occurred without greater internal damage in the cars.
More than 820 passengers were traveling on the train at the time of the incident. The derailment has generated important logistics affectations, since the central line communicates a good part of the east and the west of the country. Directors of the National Railway Company are evaluating damage to the affected section and developing strategies for their restoration. “The impact has been severe in road infrastructure,” they admitted, and repairs are expected to take at least one full day.
The preliminary hypothesis points to the poor state of the road as a determining factor, although the authorities have not issued an official statement on possible responsibilities.
