Sharjah24 - AFP: On Thursday, on the outskirts of the Chilean capital, a freight train crashed head-on with an empty locomotive doing test runs, resulting in two fatalities and nine injuries, according to police.
Four Chinese citizens were among those injured aboard the train carrying out speed tests, said the state railway company EFE.
The driver of the freight train and his assistant were killed.
"We regret to report the death of two workers on the freight train," EFE said in a statement.
The trains collided in the suburb of San Bernardo, on the outskirts of Santiago.
Prosecutor Pedro Aravena said that "for reasons that are unknown" the test train was not aware the freight train was heading north in its direction.
David Fernandez, the manager of the private Pacific Railways (Fepasa) company which owns the freight train, told journalists that the vehicle had been carrying copper bars from a mine, and was authorized to circulate at the time. He said both drivers were experienced workers.
The other train involved, owned by EFE, was one of the locomotives whose construction was awarded to the Chinese consortium CRRC Sifang, as part of a plan to revive Chile's rail transport network.
Train infrastructure is limited in Chile and accidents of this type are rare.
The EFE train driver and the person in charge of track control were arrested Thursday for alleged manslaughter and causing serious injuries.
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