Spain mourns 69 killed in high-speed train crash, second this year
- A Renfe train hit a stationary Iryo train in Castilla-La Mancha on Wednesday morning.
- Spain began three days of mourning as relatives waited for news of the missing.
- The transport minister blamed an automatic control failure and an unexplained decision to resume traffic.
Spain has begun three days of mourning after two high-speed trains collided in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha, killing at least 69 people and injuring many more. Flags are flying at half-mast on public buildings, and official ceremonies and public events have been cancelled or scaled back.
The crash happened on Wednesday morning on the line linking Madrid with Seville. A train run by the state operator Renfe hit the back of a stationary train belonging to the private company Iryo. Rescue workers used cranes to lift mangled metal through the night, and on Thursday sniffer dogs and thermal drones were sent to the site near the village of Urda to search for bodies.
The outlets differ slightly on the toll. Channels TV reported 68 dead, while Punch put the figure at 69, saying the regional government raised the count as the search went on.
What went wrong
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said an automatic control system failed along 69 kilometres of track, which stopped all trains in the area. But the control centre then decided to restart traffic in what he called "inexplicable" circumstances. According to Puente, the Renfe train travelled 25 kilometres before hitting the Iryo train, and the centre "had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it".
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the crash site and promised a full investigation. "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.
It is Spain's second high-speed rail disaster this year. In January, two trains collided in Andalusia after one derailed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people. That investigation is still open, and the government has faced criticism over how it runs the railways.
Families wait for news
A school in Urda is being used as a support centre where relatives can ask about loved ones. Red Cross workers are offering counselling, and the Civil Guard has opened offices in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba and Seville for relatives to give DNA samples. Blood donation points have been set up in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.
Red Cross psychologist Carmen Garcia said the coming hours would be "long and hard", with people in shock, angry, sad and worried. "The grieving will be complicated," she said. Parish priest Jose Miguel Fernandez said some relatives were calm while others were "nervous and desperate".
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were due to visit injured victims at a hospital in Toledo on Thursday afternoon, the royal household said. Train drivers also went on strike on Thursday over rail safety, a walkout called before Wednesday's crash.
The disaster comes a month before an early general election on November 29, in which Sanchez is seeking to extend his eight-year premiership.
