BARCELONA, Spain — The roar was deafening inside the train car as it hurtled off the tracks, then slid down a steep slope, ripping open its frame. And then, amid the twisted metal of the wreckage, the cries of the injured and the silence of the dead.
Surrounded by bodies after the train accident in southern Spain, one little girl somehow emerged virtually unscathed.
Newspaper La Vanguardia reported that a Civil Guard officer found her barefoot on the tracks after she escaped through a broken window.
Relative Juan Barroso told reporters the 6-year-old is in good health after receiving three stitches in her head at a hospital. The mayor of her family's village, located near the ill-fated rail line, said he was finding a measure of solace in the fact this girl was out of harm's way.
"There are many people who are very sad for the victims of this terrible accident, but there were also many who survived, like the miracle of the girl who is safe," Punta Umbria's Mayor José Carlos Hernández told reporters Tuesday after leading a minute of silence for the victims.
Among them were the girl's parents, brother and a cousin. At least 41 people were killed in the brutal accident that has shaken the nation and left the 6-year-old child an orphan.
Her family's last names are Zamorano Álvarez, the town hall said. but The Associated Press is not disclosing her first name.
Punta Umbria has declared three days of mourning for victims including the Zamorano Álvarez family. They were seated in the front carriages that bore the brunt of the impact when a train coming the opposite direction suddenly jumped its track for reasons still unknown.
Mayor Hernández said that the girl is now with her grandparents in a hotel in Cordoba, the nearest city to the crash.
"She has a tremendous family who will do what it takes for her to have a happy life," the mayor said.
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