On Tuesday 16 August, the driver of a train carrying 48 passengers started from Sagunto in the eastern Valencia province towards Zaragoza in the north. To reach its final destination, the train must pass through Bejís, near Valencia and Castellon. However, a forest fire had just started and was fanned by strong winds. The driver was unaware and rushed towards the blaze.
On the spot, the driver decides to stop his train and return backwards. But on board, some passengers panicked. Twenty people decide to break the windows to jump off the train. Three of them are badly burned, writes British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday. “When they saw that they were surrounded by flames, they got back on the train. Some of them had been burned,” said a spokesman for the Renfe Operadora train company.
Two seriously injured people, a 58-year-old woman and a 15-year-old teenager were evacuated by helicopter, according to The Guardian and the BBC. Other injured, including a 10-year-old girl, were taken to nearby hospitals.
None of the passengers who remained seated on the train was injured.
Varios heridos cuando un tren ha quedado atrapado en el #IFBejís.
Los heridos están siendo atendidos en la estación de #Caudiel están siendo por efectivos de @GVAsanitat, @CruzRojaCS y @UMEgob pic.twitter.com/7XGoFKdgze
— NoMePisesLaManguera (@PlinioElGuapo) August 16, 2022
