Six people died and 36 were injured, three very seriously and two seriously, when a train derailed close to Villada station, in Palencia, northern Spain, emergency services told local radio on Monday.

Train operator Renfer said the train traveling between Spain and France with 426 passengers derailed at 3:52 p.m. local time as the train was going along the Coruna-Hendaya route via Vigo and Bilbao.

Spain's Civil Protection Agency and the local government of the Community of Castilla y Leon has set up an emergency phone line for victims' families and sent a mobile Triage, Evaluation and Evacuation Medical Center to Villada.

Gabriel Castaneda, the second deputy for Castilla y Leon at the crash scene and Miguel Alejo, the main deputy is on his way there.

Accident witnesses said that the engine left the rails and the first carriage of the train followed it, crashing into a pillar supporting a flyover, which carries a road across the railway line. Traffic in the area has been halted.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2006)