At least 69 people killed in train collision in Spain — CBC
At least 69 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided in central Spain. The accident occurred near the town of Urda in the province of Toledo, about 150 kilometers south of Madrid. The country’s government declared three days of mourning, while rescuers, police, military personnel and investigators continue working at the disaster site.
As CBC World reports, rescuers found another body overnight, bringing the death toll to 69. Search teams with dogs are inspecting the wreckage of carriages that ended up on a slope near the tracks after the impact. Cranes were deployed to move the damaged carriages.
The head of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, said that the casualty figures are preliminary because the identification of bodies is ongoing. According to him, 50 people remain in hospitals.
Transport minister’s account
Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said that the safety system on a 63-kilometer section of railway stopped working because of a computer system malfunction. According to him, at 8:30 a.m. local time, all trains on this section stopped. At that time, an IRYO train was standing near Urda, while a train operated by the state operator RENFE was about 25 kilometers behind it.
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According to Puente’s account, several minutes later the central control center instructed the RENFE train to resume moving without a speed restriction, although a stop signal was still active on the line. At 8:53 a.m., the RENFE train collided with the stationary IRYO train. The minister called the order incomprehensible and said that the train drivers were not to blame for the accident.
Traffic between Madrid and Seville halted
After the disaster, the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville was closed, forcing thousands of passengers to look for alternative ways to reach their destinations. This is already the second fatal accident on Spain’s high-speed railway since the beginning of the year: 46 people were killed in another disaster in January. Both accidents occurred on the same line and involved RENFE and IRYO trains.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the site of the tragedy and promised to conduct an investigation and strengthen rail transport safety. The disaster occurred four weeks before nationwide elections in the country.
