The violent derailing of a passenger train in northwest Spain last night killed at least 78 and injured more than 140. Video of the accident shows the first several cars of the train lurching onto their sides at high speed as it exits a curve:

[There was a video here]

According to initial reports, the train may have been traveling at as much as 118 miles per hour—twice the speed limit for the curve, which is located near the Galician capital of Santiago de Compostela. Both a judicial investigation undertaken by authorities and a technical investigation undertaken by the rail company have been launched.

El País has harrowing footage of the scene immediately following the crash, which one firefighter described as "hell":

"I'm coming from hell, I couldn't tell you if the engine was on fire, or one of the carriages or what..." he told ABC after dragging the injured and bodies from the train. Earlier, the leader of the regional government Alberto Nunez Feijoo described it as "a Dante-esque scene", in comments to Spanish radio.

Following a moment of silence in which government ministers gathered outside parliament in Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declared three national days of mourning.

[all images via AP]