Mexico vows answers after metro train collapse kills 24

Workers move a train car from a site where an overpass for a metro partially collapsed with train cars on it at Olivos station in Mexico City, Mexico, yesterday.

Mexico will find out who was responsible for an overpass collapse that killed at least 24 people and injured dozens more when a train on Mexico City’s newest metro line plunged onto a busy road below, the government said yesterday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the investigation should be done quickly and that nothing should be hidden from the public. “There’s no impunity for anyone,” he told a news conference. The crash has raised questions about safety on one of the world’s busiest metro systems, which spreads across an urban sprawl home to over 20mn people. The city has been governed since the turn of the century by former mayor Lopez Obrador and his allies. Firefighters using heavy chains to stabilise the site pulled bodies and survivors from the wreckage. Some 79 people were injured, including three children, authorities said. Video on social media showed the moment when the overpass plummeted onto a stream of cars near the Olivos station in the southeast of the city at around 10.30pm (0330GMT yesterday), sending up clouds of dust and sparks. Monserrat, 26, said she was at the back of the train wagon when she heard a loud noise and the lights went out. “Everybody screamed and we fell on top of each other,” she told Mexican radio, speaking from the Belisario Dominguez hospital where she was receiving treatment for an injured rib. Workers yesterday hoisted one of two train cars dangling from the bridge using several cranes and slowly lowered it close to the ground. Twisted pieces of metal could be seen inside. It was the second serious accident this year, after a fire at a central control building knocked out service on several lines for weeks. The overpass that collapsed was part of Linea 12, an addition to the network finished less than a decade ago and long plagued by allegations of corruption. Four people who live in the area said they observed the support structures below the elevated tracks visibly shaking when trains crossed. Some recalled warnings about the humid soil being unfit for major construction. “Every time I saw the train, I saw the columns and beams shake,” said Victor Lara, a daily commuter on the line. “They’re not well made.” Investigations will be carried out by both the attorney general’s office and an external auditor, the government said.