Regional authorities report at least 64 dead and 80 injured at this stage. In Spain, two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday October 28 while traveling at high speed in the Toledo sector, approximately 150 km south of Madrid. Emergency services have activated their territorial emergency plan, in order to coordinate the teams on site. Here is what we know, for now, about the tragedy.
The collision occurred "at 8:54 a.m." between "two trains, one from [the private operator] Iryo and the other from [the national company] Renfe", near the Urda station, in the Castilla-La Mancha region, according to a spokesperson for the Spanish emergency services contacted by AFP. The public establishment Adif, in charge of the Spanish railway network, reported around 9:10 a.m. the interruption of traffic on the line between Madrid and Andalusia, in a message published on social networks.
The scale of the disaster became apparent with the first images of the collision. One of the two trains derailed before ending its route in a neighboring field, according to videos filmed at the scene, which France Télévisions was able to authenticate.
At least four cars overturned at the foot of an embankment, according to the Civil Guard, cited by the Antena 3 channel and other Spanish media. The trains concerned are the AVE 2080 and the Iryo 6076 train, said the public operator Renfe.
The regional government announced at the beginning of the afternoon "at least 64 dead and 80 injured". Quoted by the Spanish channel TVE, Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the regional authorities, had previously clarified that the Iryo train carried "146 passengers and a baby", while the Renfe train had 397 passengers, based on information provided by Adif, adds TVE. At the end of the morning, the official declared on the Antena 3 channel that "all the injured had been removed from the cars" but "that the evacuation of the bodies was continuing."
Several fire brigades, three helicopters and two mobile intensive care units are already on site. Local emergency services have activated their intervention plan, Platecam. The government of Castile-La Mancha requested the intervention of the emergency military unit, specifies Antena 3. In a press release, the Iryo company declares "to have activated all emergency protocols", specifying that the collision occurred between Madrid and Seville, at kilometer point 118, in the municipality of Urda.
The Guardia Civil has opened several offices to organize DNA samples from relatives of victims, with a view to identifying the bodies. She appeals to direct relatives to go to the services set up as soon as possible. The country's authorities have also relayed calls for blood donations.
The authorities have not yet officially given details as to the causes of the disaster. The daily El Pais reports, however, that the first investigations suggest "a double human error", after a breakdown of the computer system led to the stopping of all trains in the sector.
According to the newspaper, when traffic resumed in manual mode, an Adif controller ordered the Renfe train to restart while an Iryo train remained immobilized 25 kilometers later. He also gave the driver the instruction to leave "normally", even though the protocol required them to resume at a reduced speed, due to a lack of a computer system. The Renfe AVE train then hit the Iryo from behind.
This accident occurs in the middle of the electoral campaign, before the legislative elections on November 29, and less than a year after the collision between two high-speed trains in Adamuz, in Andalusia, which left 46 dead during a collision, shocking all of Spain.
“We are deeply touched and worried,” reacted the royal palace on X. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said he was “dismayed by the serious accident” in a message posted on social networks. He said he was working in concert with the Minister of Transport and the president of the Castile-La Mancha region.
Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of Castile-La Mancha, for his part announced that he would suspend his schedule and go to the scene of the accident, saying he was following the situation “with concern”. The leader of the Popular Party (PP, right), Alberto Núñez Feijoo, also said he was "very concerned" about X.
