Spain refuses to rule out human error after an 'inexplicable' control centre order led to a train crash killing 68
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.
Investigators are looking into whether human error by traffic controllers at Spain's central rail command centre caused Wednesday's crash near Toledo, which killed 68 and injured more than 100. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said controllers gave an "inexplicable" order for a Renfe train to resume at full speed after a safety system failed across 63km of track, driving it into a stationary Iryo train at speeds of up to 200km/h. Three days of national mourning have been declared as Puente faces growing pressure to resign.
More than 540 passengers were aboard both trains; 53 remain in hospital and at least 15 were fighting for their lives at the scene.
Train drivers had been due to strike on Thursday over long-standing safety concerns, with unions demanding 'real and definitive technical solutions' to reliability failures.
Wednesday's disaster is Spain's second deadly high-speed crash this year — a January collision near Adamuz killed 46, raising questions about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's rail maintenance spending.
