Spain Declares Three Days of Mourning After Train Crash Kills 68

Spain has declared three days of national mourning after a high-speed train collision killed 68 people and injured more than 100, as emergency crews continued searching the wreckage and relatives sought information about missing loved ones.

The crash on Wednesday morning involved a train operated by state-owned Renfe and another run by private company Iryo. Both were traveling in the same direction on the line connecting Madrid with southern Spain when the Renfe train struck the rear of the stationary Iryo service near Urda, in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha, sending several carriages off the tracks.

Spanish officials said 107 people had been admitted to hospitals following the collision, including 18 in critical condition, according to regional emergency services and Spanish media. Another 56 people who had been hospitalized were later discharged, leaving 53 still receiving treatment, the Castilla-La Mancha Health Ministry said.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of railway safety in Spain, particularly after Transport Minister Oscar Puente described an “error” and “inexplicable circumstances” surrounding the decision that preceded the collision.

Rescue teams worked through the night to search the wreckage, using cranes to lift twisted sections of metal, Agence France-Presse reported. Emiliano García-Page, head of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, warned on Wednesday that the death toll could rise because “it has not yet been possible to reach the bottom of the carriages.”

The Civil Guard has opened four offices in Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville where relatives can provide DNA samples to help identify victims. Blood donation centers have also been established in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.

A school in Urda, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Madrid, has been made available for relatives seeking information about their loved ones. Red Cross teams provided support to families arriving at the site, some in tears.

Red Cross psychologist Carmen Garcia warned that those affected faced a difficult period of grief, saying that “long and hard hours” lay ahead because “every person will manage it in their own way.” She added that the relatives included people who were shocked, angry, sad and worried, and said the grieving process would be complicated.

The collision was Spain’s second deadly high-speed rail disaster this year. In January, 46 people died and dozens were injured when two trains operated by Renfe and Iryo collided near Adamuz in the southern region of Andalusia.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said it was “unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed train accidents in the same year, as we have.” He said the causes of the latest crash were being investigated and promised that any failures in safety systems or cases of negligence would be addressed with the “utmost severity.”

The first victim identified publicly included José Manuel Chacón, a 31-year-old Civil Guard officer. The national law enforcement agency expressed its “deepest condolences” to his family, friends and colleagues. Spanish media reported that those still missing included a former minister from the People’s Party and several foreign nationals believed to have been visiting Spain on vacation.

Opposition People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for an immediate investigation into the crash and a “complete and independent review” of the country’s entire rail network. “Spain has the right to know what is going on with its infrastructure,” he told reporters.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said an automatic control system had failed across a section of track, triggering an order to stop rail traffic. The control center subsequently authorized trains to resume running in circumstances he described as inexplicable.

Puente said the Renfe train was instructed to continue its journey at 8:36 a.m., despite the earlier stop order, and traveled about 25 kilometers before the collision at 8:53 a.m. He said the train may have reached a speed exceeding 100 kilometers per hour.

The control center had sufficient time to check the error but failed to correct it, Puente said. He declined to answer questions about whether he would resign, saying his priority was to establish what had led to the crash and support those affected.

The latest disaster comes one month before Sánchez, who has led the Socialist government for eight years, faces an early general election on November 29 as he seeks to reverse unfavorable polling.