A failure in the coupling of the locomotive was the cause of the tragic accident Tuesday morning, claiming the lives of two people and left another in serious condition, in San Rafael de Alajuela, according to the president of the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (Incofer), Elizabeth Briceño.
Briceño explained that the locomotive approached with a car full of rubble, to hook two more cars, one with wooden bases and another with concrete railway ties.
However, while performing the maneuver, the locomotive did not manage to engage with the stopped cars, rather, pushed them downhill.
It was then when the loaded cart went uncontrollably for approximately 2.2 kilometers. On the way, the cars slammed the passenger vehicle on the tracks at the moment and dragged it for about 900 meters. The two victims were in the vehicle, the injured was a pedestrian.
The Incofer president said a commission was formed to investigate the accident, “to review the different scenarios: whether or not the cars were braked, and whether or not the protocols were complied with or not”.
The victims were identified as Angelita Abarca Calero, 56, and Alberto Madriz Soto (54), she from San Antonio de Belen, Heredia and he from Desamparados, San Jose. Angelita was a math teacher, Alberto a civil engineer.
