Dozens killed in Spain high speed train crash

Urda, Spain, Oct 28 (EFE).- At least 64 people have died in a collision between two high-speed trains in Spain’s central province of Toledo, regional authorities said Wednesday, as emergency crews continued searching the wreckage for victims and warned that the death toll could rise.

Rescue workers were using specially trained dogs to search the site near Urda, south of Madrid, for bodies that may remain trapped in the wreckage, Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page told reporters.

“I am extremely sorry for the families and for all the people,” García-Page said, confirming 40 deaths aboard an Iryo train and 24 aboard a Renfe high-speed AVE service. The number of injured stood at 58, with varying degrees of severity.

“The work of clearing the debris” and “removing the wreckage of the carriage” was still pending, he said, warning that firefighters expected more bodies to be recovered.

García-Page described the accident as “an unmitigated tragedy.”

The collision occurred near Urda station between a Renfe AVE train traveling toward Seville and an Iryo service that was apparently stationary on the track, according to sources from the Castilla-La Mancha regional government.

The Renfe train was carrying 378 passengers, while 174 people, including a baby, were aboard the Iryo service.

According to Spain’s Transport Ministry, the collision caused two carriages of the Iryo train to derail and plunge down an embankment.

All rail traffic on the high-speed corridor was suspended, and passengers holding tickets for the affected route were advised not to travel to stations.

Numerous emergency teams, including air and ground units and a specialised military emergency force, were deployed to the scene. The injured were being transported to several hospitals.

Former Spanish employment minister Fátima Báñez was reported missing, according to sources from the Spanish business organization CEOE.

Santa Justa station in Seville, the trains’ destination, and Atocha station in Madrid were also experiencing long waits as passengers faced major disruption to rail services. EFE

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