Spain train crash toll rises to at least 69 as mourning and searches continue

At least 68 people were killed and dozens more were injured in the train collision near Urda in Toledo province, according to the BBC. Emergency crews continued searching the wreckage while relatives waited for news. The transport minister said the Renfe train had mistakenly been ordered to proceed without speed restrictions after a signalling failure.³

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Death toll higher in later report

The BBC reported that at least 68 people were killed and dozens more were injured after a Renfe train struck a stationary train near Urda. Earlier reports put the death toll at 68. The Guardian reports that 107 people needed hospital treatment, including 15 in serious condition.²³⁴⁵

NPR’s report, published at 10:09 on October 28, gave a higher death toll than the Guardian’s account published at 09:31. The earlier report cited Castilla-La Mancha regional government spokesperson Esther Padilla as confirming 10 deaths and warning that more fatalities were possible.¹²

The final toll remained uncertain on October 29. Regional president Emiliano García-Page warned that more victims could be found because rescuers had not yet reached the bottoms of the carriages, according to the Guardian. The cause remained under investigation.²

Rescue work at the wreckage

According to NPR, the RENFE service appeared to have struck an IRYO train that had stopped. It reported that the RENFE train carried 397 passengers and the IRYO service 147. Both trains were heading in the same direction along the Madrid–Seville route.¹

Ignacio Relaño, a passenger on the RENFE train, described the moments before the collision. “We all felt the train abruptly slowing down and then the impact,” he told NPR. His account described the movement of the train but did not establish why the crash happened.¹

Rescuers searched the wreckage for survivors and bodies, concentrating on the two most damaged carriages, NPR reported. Injured passengers were taken to hospitals in the area, and a military emergency brigade was deployed to assist emergency services, firefighters and police.¹

The search continued overnight and into October 29. Cranes lifted wreckage while rescuers searched damaged carriages, The Hindu reported. A canine unit was deployed and was scheduled to return to check for anyone still at the site. Regional government spokesperson Esther Padilla said rescuers could not yet be certain that no victims remained trapped.²⁴

The BBC reported that passengers and crew helped people with severe chest and rib injuries after the impact. Miguel Ángel Pérez told La Hora de La 1 that he was aboard the Renfe train’s rear carriage when it tipped partly onto its side. The BBC reported that journalist Roberto Gómez suffered minor injuries and that his carriage was destroyed.³

Manuel Galán, the mayor of Urda, said emergency services had asked him to make a sports hall ready for injured people, according to the Guardian. IRYO activated its security procedures and was cooperating with authorities, NPR reported.¹²

Volunteers also came to the scene, handed out water and arranged cars to take victims away, according to the Guardian.²

Urda became an emergency response centre, with medical staff turning its sports centre into a temporary treatment and triage facility, the Guardian reported. Buses brought lightly injured survivors to the town, and residents supplied food and water to a hall for relatives searching for passengers.²

Survivors helped injured passengers while waiting for medics and Guardia Civil officers, according to the Guardian. Iryo passenger Ata Yelkaya described helping others leave the train despite the shock of the impact.²

The Civil Guard said its priority was identifying missing people and collecting DNA samples. Its priorities were identifying missing people and collecting DNA samples to help establish family matches.³

Relatives waited for news as emergency crews worked through the night to recover victims and remove debris, according to the BBC. The Guardian reported that a school in Urda was being used for enquiries about loved ones.²³

Services and public schedules disrupted

Rail services between Madrid and Andalucía were suspended following the collision. NPR also reported a suspension affecting Ciudad Real. The disruption followed the derailment on the Madrid–Seville line identified in the Guardian’s account by rail system operator Adif.¹²

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was maintaining contact with the transport minister and the president of Castilla-La Mancha. NPR reported that he cancelled his agenda to concentrate on the crash. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said assistance to victims and their families should come first.¹²

During a visit to Urda, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain was in mourning, according to the Guardian.²

Most political parties suspended campaigning, while Vox continued, according to the BBC. NPR reported that Spain’s soccer governing body delayed Wednesday’s entire 24-match Copa del Rey schedule.¹³

Spain began three days of national mourning on October 29. According to The Hindu, Pedro Sánchez planned to go to Toledo to attend a meeting overseeing and coordinating the emergency response.²⁴⁵

TVE estimated the turnout at a demonstration by the Spanish Transport Ministry at roughly 1,500, the BBC reported. The BBC reported that police dispersed crowds with tear gas.³

Investigation to examine instructions and speed

The transport minister attributed the crash to incorrect instructions, the New York Times reported on October 28. He said traffic controllers had sent one train toward another stopped miles ahead. Earlier, the BBC reported that the Renfe train had stopped, with passengers told there was congestion, before moving again. Officials will examine its instructions, speed and why it did not stop.⁶³

The Spanish transport minister described the circumstances as inexplicable and said the usual speed on that section was around 200km/h, according to the BBC. The BBC reported that regulations required a driver in these circumstances to proceed at sight speed, about 40km/h. Neither figure establishes the train’s actual speed at impact.³

The BBC reported that a computer failure in the signalling system had halted trains on the affected stretch. According to the transport minister, the Renfe train was then mistakenly ordered to proceed without speed restrictions, while the Iryo train remained stationary near Urda. The Hindu likewise reported authorisation to proceed at normal speed. These accounts do not establish the actual speed at impact.³⁴

The Straits Times reported that an automatic control system failed across 69km of track, stopping all trains there. Traffic subsequently resumed, and the Renfe train travelled 25km before striking the stationary Iryo train. The transport minister criticised the restart and said the control centre had enough time to identify and correct the error but did not do so.⁵

Drivers press safety demands

Train drivers proceeded on October 29 with a previously planned strike demanding greater investment and structural changes in railway safety, The Hindu reported. Their union, SEMAF, said it was considering further action but wanted a detailed understanding of the collision before commenting on its cause.⁴