Police detain driver of Spanish train involved in catastrophe

Police say they have detained the driver of the train that crashed in north-western Spain and killed 78 people.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo was officially detained in the hospital where he is recovering, said Galicia region National Police Chief Jaime Iglesias.

Mr Iglesias said that Garzon Amo would be questioned “as a suspect for a crime linked to the cause of the accident”.

He says the driver is being guarded by police and cannot yet testify because of his medical condition. He did not have details of the medical condition but said it could delay the driver’s statement.

Police scientists examining the remains of those killed in the disaster lowered the death count from 80 people to 78 and said the count could change as they continue their work identifying body parts and associating them with others.

The revised death toll came as forensic scientists matched body parts with each other at a makeshift morgue set up in a sports arena in Santiago de Compostela.

Mr De Amo said police are still working to identify what they believe are the remains of six people.

Investigators, meanwhile, have taken possession of the “black boxes” of the train.