Train crashes into dump truck working on bullet train link in Spain; 2 dead, 3 hurt

Train crashes into truck in Spain; 2 dead, 3 hurt

MADRID — Spain’s Interior Ministry says a passenger train has crashed into a dump truck working on the future bullet train link with Portugal, killing two people and injuring three others.

A regional spokeswoman said the collision happened near the southwestern town of Carmonita, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the border with Portugal, at about 1 p.m. Monday. She says emergency services are working to clear the wreckage.

She says one of the dead was a woman passenger aboard the train, the other the truck driver. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry rules.

Bullet trains are scheduled to travel from Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, to Madrid in under three hours by 2014 despite budget cuts caused by the financial crisis.