Passengers treated for heat stroke on train stranded by cable theft

A RENFE train with 200 passengers on board was left stranded, baking in the summer sun, for three hours because thieves had tried to steal cables from the tracks.
In temperatures that hit 40 degrees Celsius, the Madrid to Santander train that left on Monday at 1.20pm was held up at 3pm when electricity was cut by a fire started during an attempt to steal cables.
Passengers complained on Twitter that they’d received no information on what had caused the delay, as temperatures and tempers rose inside the carriages, left without air conditioning because of power cut.
Renfe distributed water, says Spanish paper El Pais, when frustrated passengers threatened to break windows on the train.
The Guardia Civil eventually reached the train after two hours, and at least two people had to be taken off the train for treatment for heat exhaustion. Other passengers were finally transferred to another train, making it to Santander five hours later than their planned arrival.