A commuter train has crashed into a railway buffer in Barcelona's Francia station, injuring 48 people, five of them seriously.
The driver is among the seriously injured.
The drama happened just after 7am local time on Friday at Barcelona's Franca train station which is its second busiest after Barcelona-Sants,according to the Daily Mail. The smash coincided with the start of a national rail strike.
The front of the regional train was badly damaged after it smashed into a buffer as it arrived at its destination from the village of San Vicente Calders around 50 miles away.
There were no immediate reports of any fatalities. It is not yet known whether any Brits or Irish nationals are among the casualties.
Hundreds of trains were cancelled after trade union members promised to stop working between midnight and 11pm (local time).
Most of the injured were travelling in the front carriage. Many are believed to have standing up ready to leave the train when it crashed into the buffer, knocking them to the ground.
A train has crashed at Barcelona station resulting in injuries to passengers. Photo / Twitter
The train was coming from Sant Vicenc de Calders village in the province of Tarragona on the R2 line of the Rodalies commuter rail service, emergency services said.
The cause of the crash is not immediately known.
The director of Barcelona's Civil Protection said: "The train was braking, if it had been entering the station at speed the consequences would have been worse.
"The train derailed because of the force of the impact."
Witnesses told local media that they were standing up waiting to get off the train when the accident happened, forcing them to the ground.
One said: "It took me a while to realize what was going on."
The Barcelona Council said they activated their mass causality protocol, and sent eleven fire trucks to the station as well as a number of units from the Urban Guard.
Six ambulances and nine police patrol units were also sent to the site of the crash.
People who witnessed the devastating crash have share photos on social media.
También por cortes al romper varios cristales. A la espera de la investigación del hecho, resaltar que NO HAY HERIDOS GRAVES. pic.twitter.com/5XwQerhLRx
