Death toll in Spanish train crash rises to 78

The death toll has risen to at least 78 after a train derailed outside the city of Santiago de Compostela in the region of Galicia in northwestern Spain on Wednesday evening, local media reported on Thursday.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is from the region of Galicia himself, arrived Thursday at the scene and was expected to visit victims in hospital later.

King Juan Carlos of Spain and Crown Prince Felipe have suspended their public agenda Thursday for the deadly accident.

Media have been speculating that speeding is the cause of the derailment.

The train, which was travelling from Madrid to Ferrol and left the Chamartin Station in the capital at 15:00, derailed on a bend shortly after coming out of a tunnel.

There were 218 passengers plus crew aboard the train, which was especially full because Thursday is the holiday of St John in Santiago, the patron saint of the region of Galicia and the start of a four-day weekend in the region.

It is the worst train accident Spain has suffered in the past 40 years and the third worst in the country's history, with a higher number of victims than the head-on collision in Chincilla (Albacete), which claimed 19 lives in 2003.