Simoca freight train derailment spills sugar cargo

A freight train, identified as Tren 5004, derailed on Tuesday afternoon in the southern Tucumán region near Manuela Pedraza, within the jurisdiction of Simoca. The train was transporting 28 wagons filled with sugar.

The derailment began at the third wagon and affected up to the eighth unit, causing several wagons to overturn and spill part of the cargo into the surrounding vegetation. The incident occurred on the tracks west of National Route 157 while the train was traveling from north to south.

Both the driver, Maximiliano Castellano, and the train chief, Esteban Góngora, were reported uninjured and did not require hospital transfer. Authorities and railway personnel are conducting technical inspections to determine if the cause was a mechanical failure in the wheels or wear in the track sleepers.