Spain enters national mourning as death toll from high-speed train crash rises with dozens more injured
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…
Traffic control operators gave the Renfe train clearance to continue at full speed despite the Iryo service sitting stationary on the tracks ahead — a decision Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente called "inexplicable" — with audio recordings revealing controllers in Madrid authorised movement even though the stalled train was just 25km ahead.
A computer failure at 08:30 halted six trains; control centre staff then waved them forward without speed restrictions, triggering the rear-end collision near Urda.
Former employment minister Fátima Báñez, who served under PM Mariano Rajoy, and 24-year-old athlete Julieta Gallego are among the named dead; several Americans are also believed injured.
Residents of Urda — including 78-year-old pharmacist Antonio Garcia, among the first on scene — brought blankets, painkillers and water as carriages lay crushed down an embankment.
