Spain: at least 68 dead as two high-speed trains collide in Toledo
Urda, Spain — At least 68 people were killed on Wednesday when a high-speed train slammed into another train that had stopped in the province of Toledo, in central Spain, according to the central government's office in Castilla-La Mancha, cited by the AP news agency.
The crash happened in the morning between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. According to rail operator ADIF and regional spokeswoman Esther Padilla, both trains were traveling in the same direction, from Madrid to Seville, when one ran into the rear of the other, which was stopped, derailing two cars. Authorities suspended rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.
The state-owned RENFE train was carrying 397 passengers and the privately owned IRYO train 147, Padilla said. Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page reported that at least 80 people were injured, and emergency crews worked for hours in the two most damaged cars to rescue survivors and recover bodies. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
A passenger on the RENFE train, Ignacio Relaño, told state broadcaster TVE that the train stopped briefly, started again and then hit the IRYO train: "We all felt the train abruptly slowing down and then the impact. Everything went flying: luggage, cell phones. Everything shook," he said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda to follow the tragedy and expressed his dismay, while King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said they shared the families' grief. The Spanish Football Federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey matches scheduled for Wednesday as a sign of respect. It is the second major train accident in Spain this year, after the January crash in the south of the country in which 46 people died.
Updated 12:35 p.m. — The official toll has risen to at least 68 dead, 24 on the AVE and 44 on the Iryo, according to Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page. Another 58 people are hospitalized, 15 in very serious condition. Transport Minister Óscar Puente blamed an “inexplicable” decision by the Atocha control center: after the LZB safety system failed, the AVE was cleared to resume normal running, at about 200 km/h, instead of running on sight (under 40 km/h), until it struck the stopped Iryo from behind. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced three days of official mourning, October 29, 30 and 31.
Photo: Guardia Civil via AP
Source: AP / KNKX