These were the scenes of devastation after a high-speed train left the tracks in Spain, killing at least 80 people.

Dramatic video footage from a security camera showed the train careering into a wall near the northern city of Santiago de Compostela late on Wednesday.

In what one local official described as a scene from hell, bodies covered in blankets lay strewn around the track next to overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage and bloodied passengers staggered away.

Cranes were still pulling out mangled debris yesterday morning, 12 hours after the crash. Emergency workers have halted their search for survivors.

Police said the driver was under investigation after what is one of Europe’s worst rail disasters.

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