Deadly Train Crash in Spain: At Least 68 Killed
A high-speed passenger train rear-ended another near Toledo, Spain, on Wednesday morning, killing at least 68 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. The crash, which sent parts of both trains down a rural embankment, is one of the deadliest train crashes in Spanish history.
The cause of the crash is not yet clear, but it is the second lethal crash this year involving the same two rail operators, Iryo and Renfe. The incident is likely to raise concerns about the security of Spain's once-vaunted rail system. In January, a collision between two high-speed trains operated by the same carriers killed 46 people, the country's worst railway disaster since 2013.
According to Spanish news reports, passengers described an awful impact that tossed people from a dining car. The crash occurred in the province of Toledo, south of the capital Madrid. Spain's interior ministry has deployed a military emergency unit and Civil Guard officers to the scene, and investigators from the Major Disaster Unit are en route.
The updated death toll makes the rail disaster the country's worst since 2013. Spain's transport minister has stated that an "inexplicable" decision by the control centre led to the collision after a computer failure initially caused trains to halt. The rail operator Iryo has said its train was "struck from behind" by the Renfe train. Over 500 passengers were traveling on the two trains.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has spoken at the crash site, saying Spain is "grieving." Most major parties have suspended general election campaigning. Witnesses have described "terrible" scenes, with many injured people, a lot of blood, and many dead. Local leaders have confirmed that most of those who have died were on the high-speed train, with a lower number of fatalities on the Iryo train.
