CHARALLAVE, Venezuela — Two commuter trains collided in a tunnel outside Caracas on Thursday, killing at least one person, injuring about 30 and leaving frightened passengers gasping for air in the dark, officials said.
One train suddenly braked due to a apparent malfunction and another crashed into it from the rear, causing the first to derail, Transportation Minister Francisco Garces said on state television. Officials said a packed train coming in the opposite direction was able to stop before colliding with the others, averting a possible disaster.
The crash apparently cut power in the tunnel between Caracas and the suburbs of Los Valles del Tuy.
Passengers "remained inside the wagons without air conditioning and within the tunnel," causing some to feel a sense of suffocation, said Victor Lira, civil defense director for Miranda state.
He said five people suffered scrapes or trauma while the rest were treated for respiratory problems or high blood pressure.
Lira said the engineer of the second train died.
President Hugo Chavez lamented the incident and urged officials not to publicly discuss the possible causes of the accident until investigations have been completed.
"I lament the death of an employee, the driver of the train," Chavez said.
The injury toll was low in part because the trains that collided were almost empty, heading out of the capital as rush hour traffic flowed the other way, Lira said. The train that managed to avoid the crash was filled with about 1,000 passengers.
Rescuers drove trucks atop the tracks into the tunnel to evacuate some of the passengers, but hundreds walked out of the tunnel on foot. About 100, most of them elderly people and children, were evacuated by helicopter. Some 2,000 people on other trains also had to be evacuated.
The government sent buses to carry passengers whose trains were blocked by the crash, adding to the normal congestion of traffic in the capital region.
The 25-mile (41-kilometer) train line carries about 60,000 passengers a day.