Spain Begins Mourning After Train Collision Kills 68
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Spain began three days of official mourning Thursday after two high-speed trains collided in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha on Wednesday morning, killing 68 people — the country’s second disaster on the same rail corridor this year.
The state-owned Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary train operated by the private company Iryo near the town of Urda, about 130 kilometers south of Madrid, on the line linking the capital with Andalusia. Both trains were travelling in the same direction. The impact knocked several carriages off the track. Officials said 107 people required hospital treatment, 15 of them in serious condition.
Emergency services combed the wreckage overnight, lifting mangled metal with cranes. Emiliano García-Page, leader of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, warned the toll could rise, saying “it has not yet been possible to reach the bottom of the carriages.” The Civil Guard opened offices in Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville for relatives to provide DNA samples. The first victim named was José Manuel Chacón, a 31-year-old Guardia Civil agent.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said an automatic control system failed along 69 kilometers of track, bringing all trains there to a halt. The control centre then decided to “resume traffic in circumstances that, from our point of view, are inexplicable,” he said, with the Renfe train travelling 25 kilometers before the collision. The centre “had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it,” Puente added. Prosecutors and rail safety investigators are examining the order.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the toll “unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed train accidents in the same year,” and promised the “utmost severity” if failures or negligence were found. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People’s Party, demanded an immediate inquiry and a “complete and independent review” of the network. “Spain has the right to know what is going on with its infrastructure,” he said.
In January, 46 people were killed when two trains — again one Renfe, one Iryo — collided near Adamuz in Andalusia after one derailed onto the adjacent line. That investigation continues. Thursday’s mourning coincides with a campaign trail: Mr. Sánchez faces an early general election on November 29, and the government has drawn heavy criticism over rail management.