Spain's transport minister blames an 'inexplicable' control-centre order for the Toledo train crash that killed at least 68 people
Wrecked carriages thrown down an embankment near Urda, Toledo, after controllers directed a Renfe train to resume at full speed into a stationary Iryo service carrying 147 passengers.Smoke rises from derailed carriages between Los Yébenes and Urda after the crash, which emergency crews feared could surpass the Adamuz disaster, where 46 people died in January.Mangled wreckage on its side after two high-speed trains collided in Toledo province, Spain, killing at least 39 people and leaving survivors scrambling clear while passengers remained trapped.The derailed train near Urda, Toledo, where a computer failure prompted controllers to direct a Renfe service to resume at full speed — a decision Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said left operators with "more…
A computer malfunction halted six trains near Urda on Wednesday morning; Spain's central rail control centre then cleared them to proceed without any speed restrictions, and a state-owned Renfe service slammed into a stationary private Iryo train at up to 185mph, killing at least 68 people and leaving more than 100 injured. It is Spain's second fatal high-speed rail accident this year, after 46 people died in January. The country has declared three days of national mourning, rescue crews worked through the night, and the Civil Guard has established DNA identification centres in Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville to help identify victims.
Transport minister Óscar Puente says controllers had 'more than enough time' to correct the error but did NOT.
Around 500 passengers were aboard the two trains; survivors described scenes 'as if a bomb had been planted'.
Puente is now facing calls to resign but says he is 'not thinking about myself' and focused on establishing the facts.
