Mexico City probes metro collision; worker dies in aftermath

Emergency workers stand near a damaged section of train, after two metro trains carrying passengers crashed in Mexico City, Monday, May 4, 2015. The accident occurred in the Oceania station on Line 5 near the city’s international airport. AP

MEXICO CITY — Mexico City authorities were investigating on Tuesday whether excessive speed or bad weather may have played a role in a two-train metro crash that injured 12 people.

Metro transportation general director Joel Ortega Cuevas said a worker died in the aftermath of the accident. The worker fell and hit his head while one of the trains was being towed away from the above-ground station where the crash occurred, he said.

Monday’s accident on Line 5 of the metro system came at the height of the evening rush hour during a heavy hail storm that shut down the nearby international airport for nearly an hour.

The downpour “surely affected the area of the tracks,” Ortega said, but added that it was too early to make any conclusions about what caused the crash.

Authorities had issued a weather alert which comes with an order for trains to reduce speed, and authorities were examining voice and data recorders and the drivers’ testimony to determine whether the order was fulfilled.

Six people remained hospitalized, including one passenger who suffered a fractured leg and the drivers of the two trains.

Both drivers tested negative for alcohol following the crash. Ortega said they were veteran train operators with no prior incidents, and one had achieved the rank of chief station inspector with more than 30 years of service.

Service on Line 5 was restored late Tuesday morning.

The accident occurred when one train ran into another that had stopped at the platform at the Oceania station.

Witnesses described a crash louder than thunder that shook vendor kiosks across the street from the station.