A new train accident has eleven again raised alarms in Spain, as a suburban train collided this Thursday with a construction crane in the southeast of the country, in the Murcia region, leaving at least four people with minor injuries and causing the temporary interruption of service.

The accident occurs amid a series of train collisions in recent days, as this is the third train accident in less than a week.

The collision occurred near the port city of Cartagena, in the town of Alumbres, as confirmed by the Murcia emergency services and the rail operator Renfe. The first emergency calls were received shortly after noon.

The train did not derail or overturn

Regional emergency services specified that the train did not derail or overturn after the impact, which prevented more serious consequences. Authorities indicated that the injured sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene. Renfe confirmed that it was a metropolitan train and clarified that the crane involved in the accident was not part of the railway operation. “It was the crane that struck the train unit,” a company spokesperson stated. The railway infrastructure manager, Adif, reported via social media that traffic on the Murcia line was interrupted due to “a crane not part of the railway operation encroaching on the infrastructure's clearance.” Hours later, the company announced that service had been restored. Although no details were offered about how the crane ended up interfering with the track, the incident once again brought railway safety conditions into sharp focus. A week marked by train accidents: The accident in Murcia adds to a series of incidents that have shocked the country. On Sunday, two high-speed trains collided in Andalusia, causing at least 43 deaths. in one of the worst recent rail disasters in Spain.

Two days later, a local train derailed near Barcelona after a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks as a result of heavy rains. The accident killed the driver and left four passengers seriously injured. That same day, another rail collision occurred in the Catalonia region.

Following these events,the main train drivers' union called a national strike to demand greater guarantees in safety regulations.