Six killed in Spain train crash

One carriage hit a bridge pillar as the train derailed

Six people have been killed and at least 36 injured in a passenger train derailment in northern Spain.

Six carriages of the inter-city train came off the tracks in the town of Villada, in the province of Palencia.

The crash happened shortly before 1400 GMT on Monday. The national rail company Renfe, said the cause of the accident was still unclear.

The train was travelling from the city of Vigo in Spain's north-west to the French border town of Hendaye.

Some of the train's 426 passengers were foreign tourists who had just completed the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage.

The train was rounding a bend when it derailed. One carriage hit the pillar of a bridge.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed medics to the scene of the crash, and began taking casualties to hospital.

Last month - in the worst accident of its kind in Spain's history - an underground train crash in eastern city of Valencia left 41 people dead and nearly 50 wounded.

Officials said the metro train was travelling at twice the normal speed when it derailed.