A train speeding through a station near Barcelona ran over a group of young people crossing the tracks late yesterday, killing at least 12 and injuring 17, a Spanish official said.

A long-distance train passing through the station in the seaside town of Castelldefels hit a group of people crossing the tracks who had just gotten off of a commuter train.

The group crossed the tracks above ground rather than using a designated tunnel underneath, said Jose Ramon Mora, head of the Civil Protection Department for Catalonia regional government.

Spanish radio station Cadena Ser and other Spanish media reported that most of the fatalities and injuries were young people who had just arrived in the town to celebrate at a beach party marking the start of summer.

The train was not supposed to stop at the station and therefore moving through the station at a high rate of speed, media reports said.