The European Public Prosecutor's Office launches an investigation into possible aid fraud after the Urda train tragedy

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation after the railway tragedy in Urda (Spain), marked by the death of 69 people. This procedure concerns "a possible fraud affecting European funds intended for the renovation" of the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville, specifies the press release, published Friday November 6. The text also recalls that the European funds were intended for “improving security, signaling and communication systems”.

To this end, "investigative measures" are being carried out at the headquarters of Adif, the public company responsible for managing Spanish railway infrastructure, as well as with other public bodies, the press release added. Investigators benefit from the support of the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard, a judicial police service.

The collision of two high-speed trains near Urda, about 150 kilometers south of Madrid, left 69 people dead last week. According to the first elements of the Spanish investigation, the Urda tragedy began with a computer failure which forced several trains to stop. An incorrect instruction was then given from the Madrid control center, asking one of the trains to resume running at normal speed. He then collided head-on with a convoy stopped on the tracks.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office, in its press release, recalls that it had already launched a similar investigation, relating to the same line of the Spanish railway network, after another accident which left 46 dead in Andalusia, on January 18. Two high-speed trains collided near the town of Adamuz, killing 46 people. On Tuesday, Transport Minister Oscar Puente, who led the ministry during the two accidents, submitted his resignation.