Spain declares three days of mourning over rail crash

Spain will observe three days of mourning for the victims of a train crash that killed at least 78 passengers and injured more than 140, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Thursday.

"Today I will sign a decree declaring three days of official mourning in all of Spain," he told reporters in his hometown of Santiago de Compostela where the disaster occurred on Wednesday.

"I want to express on the behalf of myself and the Spanish government my condolences to all the families of the people who have died, of which unfortunately there are too many."

Rajoy was accompanied by the president of the region of Galicia, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who had already declared seven days of mourning within the region.

The cause of the accident is not yet known, but it has been widely reported that the train was travelling well in excess of the 80 kilometres an hour speed limit when it crashed.

He said two investigations were being carried out into the crash, the worst in Spain since 1944, one a judicial probe and the other led by the Investigation Comission for Rail Accidents, which will be overseen by the transport ministry.

"The objective is that we will know as soon as possible what were the causes of this accident.” (AFP)