MADRID, October 29 (Aalimi Nation) – Spain's transport minister has described as "inexplicable" a decision by a rail control centre to let trains resume running without speed restrictions after a computer failure, minutes before two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, killing at least 68 people.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure around 8:30 am on Wednesday halted six moving trains on a stretch of the Madrid–Seville high-speed line, including the two that later collided. He said the control centre then allowed the services to move again without speed limits, an order he called "inexplicable" and the situation "truly unbelievable".
Regional authorities in Castilla-La Mancha said a Madrid-to-Seville train struck the rear of another service travelling the same route that was stationary. Two carriages derailed, and two carriages of the struck train fell down an embankment, according to emergency sources. Officials said 397 passengers were on one train and about 147 on the other.
The regional government put the death toll at no fewer than 68 and said the figure could still rise. Officials said around 80 people were injured, including about 50 seriously and some 15 in critical condition, and warned that a number of the gravely injured might not survive.
More than 200 members of the Military Emergencies Unit were working at the site, and medical teams and firefighters were sent from Madrid. The Civil Guard dispatched a team to investigate the disaster, and the rail infrastructure manager suspended high-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia. One of the two operators cancelled all its services from Madrid's Atocha station on the southern corridor, with no date given for resumption.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of official mourning from October 29 to 31. He said Spain was in mourning and promised a full investigation, adding that the government would respond firmly if failures in the system were found. Regional leader Emiliano García-Page said authorities would "get to the bottom of this" and that an independent commission would determine the causes.
King Felipe VI offered condolences to the families. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe mourned with Spain, and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity.
The collision came about nine months after another crash between high-speed trains on the same line, near Adamuz in Andalusia, which killed 46 people. Sánchez said two accidents in a single year were unacceptable but that their causes appeared to be unrelated, a view also expressed by García-Page.
Investigators have not yet published a formal finding on the cause. The sequence described so far, including what instructions were given to the drivers and by whom, comes from the transport minister's preliminary account and has not been independently verified. Casualty figures have varied between early accounts and may change as rescue and recovery work continues.
The accident is the deadliest involving a high-speed train in Spain since 2013. Spain is due to hold a general election in a little over a month,.
