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At least 40 people have been killed and hundreds of others were injured after a packed train derailed and slammed into a railway station platform in Buenos Aires, officials said.

The commuter train traveling at high speed is reported to have slammed into the barrier at the end of the platform at the Once station in the west of the city on Wednesday.

“There are people still trapped, people alive, and there may have been fatalities. We don't know if there are dead people” Argentina Transportation Secretary, Juan Pablo Schiavi said.

Schiavi also said the accident, which took place shortly after 8:30 am local time may have been caused by brake failure and that the train entered the station at 26 kilometers per hour.

Trains in Buenos Aires are usually packed with people standing between the seats. Passengers said windows exploded as the tops of train cars separated from their floors, and many were thrown to the floor by the force of the hard stop.

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