Spain begins three days of mourning as train crash death toll reaches 69 - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Spain has begun three days of mourning after a high-speed train collision killed 69 people this week. 

During a visit to the crash site, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who faces a general election on November 29, pledged to establish the cause of the crash.

Spanish media has released audio clips of the controller ordering the train engineer to start moving.

Spain has begun three days of mourning after its second high-speed rail collision this year killed 69 people.

One of Europe's deadliest train disasters this century has raised fresh questions about safety on Spain's rail network after the transport minister said an "error" and "inexplicable circumstances" caused the crash.

During a visit to the crash site, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who faces a general election on November 29, pledged to establish the cause of the crash.

"We are working day and night not only to support the victims' families, but also to establish every last detail of this tragedy and strengthen safety measures to ensure it never happens again," he said.

Cranes help remove the wreckage of the trains involved in the collision. (Reuters: Ana Beltran)

The collision happened in the central region of Castilla La Mancha on Wednesday morning when a train from state operator Renfe rear-ended a stationary train belonging to private Spanish company Iryo.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente, said that at 8:30am that day, the security system on a stretch of track stopped working due to a computer malfunction, causing all trains on that stretch to stop. At that point the IRYO train was stopped, with the Renfe train 25 kilometers behind.

But minutes later the central command told the Renfe train to start running again without any speed restrictions, and it ended up colliding with the stationary IRYO train at 8:53am. 

Spanish media on Thursday, local time, reproduced short audio clips of the controller ordering the train engineer to start moving.

Mr Puente said that the train should never have been told to start moving again since a “stop signal” was still active on that line. And if it had, at least it should have been told to go at reduced speed.

The Renfe train travelled 25 kilometres on the stretch before striking the the back of the Iryo train.

Rescue personnel worked overnight, using sniffer dogs and drones in the search of victims and survivors. (Reuters: Ana Beltran)

The control centre "had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it" he added.

Emergency services combed through the wreckage overnight in search of victims on the key line that links Madrid with the southern city of Seville.

Sniffer dogs and thermal drones were deployed at the crash site a few kilometres from the village of Urda on Thursday to search for bodies, the regional government said.

Spain's Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente said an automatic control system had interfered with rail operations just before the crash. (Reuters: Juan Barbosa)

The death toll was raised from 68 to 69, and dozens of people remain in hospital.

A minute of silence was observed at midday on Thursday across the country, including by lawmakers outside Parliament, rail workers and union leaders in Madrid's main train station.

Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings in Spain, with official ceremonies and public events cancelled or scaled back.

Josimar Medina from Peru is holidaying in Spain with his girlfriend, and said he was sleeping on the Renfe train when "I woke up and I was in the air."

Pablo Mejia escaped with injuries to his head, telling AFP that a last-minute change of seat saved his life.

Wearing a bloodstained grey jumper and holding his tattered suitcase, he recounted "a very strong hit."

"I think I've been born again," Mr Meija said.

A school near the crash site in Urda is being used as a temporary support centre, for relatives to enquire about their loved ones.

Two people waiting for updates outside a support centre for relatives of missing train passengers. (AFP: Oscar Del Pozo)

Red Cross psychologist Carmen Garcia said "long and hard hours" were in store because "every person will manage it in their own way."

"We have people who are in shock, who haven't taken on board what has happened, angry people, sad, worried people. The grieving will be complicated," Ms Garcia said.

A man waits to hear news about a relative following the incident near Urda, in Spain. (Reuters: Susana Vera)

Jose Miguel Fernandez works as a parish priest in the area and joined emergency services in offering support to victims' families.

In January, two high-speed trains collided in the southern region of Andalusia, after one derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people.

In its wake Spain's government faced heavy criticism over its management of the country's railways.

The investigation into the January incident is ongoing.

Groups of protesters and police face off outside Spain's Ministry of Transportation during a demonstration to demand the government's resignation. (Reuters: Juan Barbosa)

Train workers held a strike on Thursday that was planned before the crash, to demand the government carry out safety improvements to the rail services.

Unions say changes were promised after the first deadly collision in January.

Union leaders questioned the why the minister had placed blame on one controller, and criticised the leaking of the control room's conversations to the media.

"The focus should not be on if there was a human error, but rather what is wrong with the system," said Pepa Páez, the general secretary of the railway sector of CCOO, the largest trade union in Spain .

"What situations must be improved so that if there is a human error we don't find ourselves in this situation," he said.