49 dead, hundreds injured in Buenos Aires train crash

Firemen rescue wounded passengers from a commuter train after a collision in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday Feb 22, 2012. A packed commuter train slammed into a retaining wall at a railway terminus in Buenos Aires during rush hour on Wednesday, leaving at least 49 dead, 600 injured, and dozens trapped in the wreckage. -- PHOTO: AP

BUENOS AIRES, (AFP) - A packed commuter train slammed into a retaining wall at a railway terminus in Buenos Aires during rush hour on Wednesday, leaving at least 49 dead, 600 injured, and dozens trapped in the wreckage.

'The train was full and the impact was tremendous,' a passenger identified only as Ezequiel told local television, adding that medics at the scene appeared overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.

Witnesses said the train's brakes failed as it was arriving at the Once station on the western outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Passengers were hurled on top of each other and knocked to the floor of the train 'in the blink of an eye,' some losing consciousness and others seriously injured, they said.