A train carrying 600 tons of coal derailed. “How did that item get there?”

According to the daily La Nacion, a train carrying coal from the mining town of Rio Turbio to the Atlantic port of Punta Loyola in Santa Cruz province derailed on Wednesday. A locomotive and three wagons fell off the tracks.

Santa Cruz Governor Claudio Vidal stated that a metal object was found on the track, which could have led to the accident.

He added that this section of the route had been inspected a few days earlier and no irregularities were detected.

It could have been intentional

Vidal noted that "no hypothesis can be ruled out" as to the causes of the accident. He emphasized that it was necessary to determine "how this object got there, what role it played in the derailment of the train and, above all, whether there was any kind of intentional action."

The owner of the train and the transported cargo is the state-owned company Yacimientos Carbonifero Rio Turbio (YCRT). According to the EFE agency, the only locomotive belonging to the company was involved in the accident. The company submitted a request to the authorities to investigate the case for possible sabotage, EFE reported.

The provincial authorities emphasized that the accident occurred at a "key moment for the company, which is making progress in rebuilding production and has signed an agreement for the sale of 210,000 tons of coal." “If anyone wants to make it harder to rebuild YCRT, they need to know that Santa Cruz will defend its coal, its workers and its production,” the governor said.