Barcelona crash: one dead and 100 others injured after two passenger trains collide in northeastern Spain

One person has died and around 100 others were injured after two passenger trains were involved in a head-on collision in Spain.

The commuter trains collided on Friday evening between the towns of Sant Vicenc de Castellet and Manresa, northwest of Barcelona.

Three of the injured passengers were in a serious condition following the incident. Around 100 others escaped injury, officials said.

One train was heading to Barcelona and the other was going to Manresa, in northeastern Spain, when they ran into each other on the same track.

Images broadcast on Catalan public broadcaster TV3 showed the torn metal where the two trains slammed into each other, along with passengers who had evacuated on the side of the tracks.

Local media reported that the crash may have been due to a signalling problem, occurring on a double stretch of track.

It has been reported that the person who died was a 26-year-old woman who was the conductor of one of the trains.

It is understood she screamed at passengers to “get themselves onto the ground” moments before the collision.

The late afternoon trains were “packed” with people.

Marina Bravo Sobrino said in a tweet: “Overwhelmed by the train wreck in Castellgalí.

“My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased machinist.

“Desires of early recovery for the wounded, and much encouragement the teams that have worked and continue to work in the emergency.

Antonio Carmona, spokesman for state train operator RENFE, said "the information we have is that there was a frontal collision."

The accident follows a train derailment on the same line two months earlier.