Spain: teams search in hope of finding survivors

Rescue teams search destroyed carriages this Thursday (29), hoping to find more survivors of the second accident this year in Spain, involving high-speed trains. To date, 69 deaths and more than 100 injuries have been recorded.

Emergency crews were seen carrying what appeared to be a body, wrapped in a blanket, from one of the trains in a rural area in the central province of Toledo, after cranes worked throughout the night to remove parts of the wreckage from Wednesday's accident.

“Rescue teams are still working very carefully as we cannot yet say with certainty that there are no more victims trapped in the twisted wreckage,” Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, told TVE.

"A canine unit was mobilized yesterday. They will return today to ensure no one else remains there," he added.

The regional governor, Emiliano Garcia-Page, reported that the death toll had risen to 69 and that remains were found during rescue work carried out in the early hours of the morning. The work now involves crane operations, especially on a wagon that was still on its side.

“We do not believe that there could be more victims under this carriage, but I say that with caution,” he said.

Train drivers' strike

Meanwhile, train drivers in Spain are continuing a previously planned strike to push for more investment in rail safety, a day after Europe's most serious rail accident since the 2013 derailment in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

The accident, which followed another in January involving the same railway companies on the same line, also rocked the campaign for early elections on November 29, with the leaders of Spain's two main parties suspending events.

The Spanish government has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the accident in which one high-speed train collided with another.

Among the injured, authorities reported that 57 remain hospitalized.

The accident triggered a major operation which, according to Spain's Ministry of the Interior, involved the mobilization of more than 800 military and police personnel, more than 200 vehicles, three helicopters, a mobile command post, drones, mounted units and search dogs.

As investigations began, a judge in Toledo banned anyone who was not involved in emergency, security, medical assistance or judicial activities from entering the scene of the accident, establishing a 2km exclusion zone, in both directions, along the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line.