Holiday trains crash in Spain

Easter is a peak period for Spain's railways

Two trains carrying about 600 people has collided on a line in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia, leaving two people dead.

Another 142 people were injured in the crash at Torredembarra station, south of Barcelona, accoridng to railway officials.

Many people were injured when they were trapped in the wreckage

A number of passengers were trapped in the wreckage.

"We had to break the window and crawl out because everyone was panicking and there was an incredible sense of desperation," said one survivor of the crash.

A BBC correspondent in Spain says private cars and taxis helped to take casualties to hospital.

A Euromed passenger train collided side-on with a regional express at 2020 local time (1920 GMT) on Saturday as they were both leaving the station in the direction of Barcelona.

The Euromed train had been travelling from Alicante and the regional express from Tortosa, the Spanish news agency Efe said.

High speed

Carlos Ortiz, a spokesman for the Catalonian Emergency Centre, said the last five carriages had been badly damaged.

Mr Ortiz said 20 fire engines had gone to the scene and crews had been attempting to free passengers from the wreckage.

The Euromed express train can reach speeds of up to 220km/h (135mph) along Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast.

Eyewitnesses say it appeared to have been travelling at about 100km/h (65mph) at the time of the crash.

The two dead were both Spanish women, aged 36 and 52.