Commuters enraged by delays in an evening train service on Tuesday set fire to parts of a railroad station, looted nearby shops and clashed with riot police.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as rioters pelted them with rocks. The fighting at Buenos Aires' Constitucion station spilled into a nearby street as demonstrators shattered windows, set fire to a ticket sales area, looted shops and ripped pay phones from walls.
Hundreds of passengers fled the fighting inside train station, one of the busiest in South America with an estimated 300,000 commuters daily.
Twelve police officers were injured by flying rocks, mostly with cuts and bruises to the head and chest, and nine people were also treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, said Alberto Crescenti, a spokesman for emergency medical workers.
Police Commissioner Ricardo Falana reported 16 arrests, including two minors.
He said about 100 police were needed to quell the rioters, who he said threw a "hail of rocks" at officers.
During the disturbances, a motorcycle was set ablaze and angry youths used metal poles to try to break down tall wooden doors to a security office in the station. Firefighters quickly put out small fires in trash cans and the ticket area. Shattered glass, bricks and sticks littered the hall afterward.
The fighting threw evening rush hour into chaos, forcing the cancellation of all train services on Tuesday evening.
Fernando Jantus, a spokesman for the Metropolitano train concession, said service was interrupted at the evening rush hour because a train broke down on a key track just outside the station, blocking other trains from leaving the station.
"The problem happened at the worst moment," he said, noting the rioting began in the peak evening rush around 6:30pm.
Passengers have long complained about poor commuter rail services on lines leading from Constitucion station in downtown Buenos Aires to poor southern suburbs of the Argentine capital.
Tuesday's riot was the second major outbreak of violence at the station since passengers angry over the cancellation of train services last September set three train cars ablaze.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS