At least 68 people die in major Spanish train crash
Two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid on Wednesday morning, less than a year after the Adamuz train crash that killed dozens of people and shook Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government.
At least 68 people died in the crash, which took place near Urda in Toledo province just before 9 a.m. local time, Castilla-La Mancha President Emilio García-Page said on Wednesday afternoon. Dozens more are injured, local emergency services said. The toll has now exceeded that of the Adamuz crash, in which 46 people died on Jan. 18.
Emergency services said a Renfe train rear-ended a stationary Iryo train, causing two Iryo carriages to fall down an embankment. Both trains were traveling between Madrid and Seville.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the collision had been caused by an official at the national railway control center in Madrid who “inexplicably” instructed one high-speed train to proceed along a track where another train had stalled.
Puente said the official who gave the order had been identified and was being questioned by Spain's Civil Guard and the country's Railway Accident Investigation Commission.
The minister stressed that Spain had “a safe transport system,” but added that “human action plays a role,” and that despite the plethora of safety regulations and protocols, “failures can occur.”
“We are absolutely devastated,” Puente said, expressing his “deepest sympathy and empathy” for the victims and their families. The minister, who has been touted as a possible future Socialist party leader, declined to answer a question about whether he would resign over the tragedy.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “dismayed” by the accident and sent his “solidarity and support” to the victims and their families. He said emergency services were working at the scene to help those affected and ensure their safety.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the People’s Party said he was “very worried” about reports of a new rail accident and that the priority now was to help the victims and support their families.
Santiago Abascal, leader of far-right Vox, also offered condolences to the victims’ families but turned his message to the government. “I will not rest until this government, which is a criminal organization, sits in the dock to answer for its crimes,” he said on social media.
The accident led the government, the PP, the PSOE and the left-wing Frente Amplio to cancel their main pre-campaign events ahead of the Nov. 29 general election, with Vox as the exception. Abascal said he would not “use mourning to silence the complaints” in an interview on Wednesday morning.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered her condolences on X, saying she had received the “devastating news” from Toledo and that “Europe mourns with you.”
The Adamuz accident drew sharp criticism of Sánchez’s government, with the PP accusing it of failing on rail safety and demanding that Transport Minister Óscar Puente answer for it. Sánchez, who stood by Puente, was later grilled in the Spanish parliament over the government’s response.
This is a developing story. Aitor Hernández-Morales contributed reporting.
