Castilla-La Mancha President Emiliano García-Page said at least 68 people had died in Wednesday’s collision of two high-speed trains in Toledo province, Servimedia reported at 11:08 a.m. ET, as rail links between Madrid and Andalusia were disrupted.
Renfe said its Madrid-Seville AVE train collided with an Iryo train between Los Yébenes and Urda. The company said the crash interrupted services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia. The regional emergency service had reported 64 deaths and 58 injured people at 9 a.m. ET.
Servimedia reported that recovery crews were waiting for judicial authorization before continuing work at the wreckage. García-Page said cranes and the Military Emergency Unit would support efforts to search beneath train cars and through debris.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the control center authorized the AVE to move again at about 3:36 a.m. ET (08:36 CET) while its signal was red, after an LZB safety-system failure. He called the authorization “inexplicable.” Investigators have not determined the cause. EconoTimes previously covered Puente’s account of the train restarting despite the red signal.
A Spanish government statement put the death toll from a January high-speed rail crash near Adamuz, Córdoba, at 46. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced three days of official mourning, from Oct. 29 through Oct. 31.
