Anibal Altamirano said fellow commuters around him were too stunned to move when the first bomb blew apart a train.

A series of bombs hidden in backpacks exploded in quick succession, blowing apart four commuter trains, killing at least 192 people and wounding more than 1,400.

Dismembered bodies entangled in the metal wreckage of train carriages. Amputated legs and arms scattered on station platforms. Thousands of people, many of them schoolchildren, fleeing in panic.

Powerful bombs ripped through three busy Madrid railway stations today just three days before general elections, killing at least 173 rush-hour commuters and wounding more than 600 in Spain’s worst terrorist attack.

Powerful explosions rocked three Madrid rail stations today – just three days before Spain’s general election – killing at least 131 rush-hour commuters and wounding more than 400 in what officials called the deadliest attack ever by the Basque separatist group ETA.