A devastating rear-end collision between two passenger trains in central Spain has left 68 people dead and dozens more hospitalized, marking the country’s second catastrophic rail disaster in less than a year and sending shockwaves through the nation just four weeks before a national election.
The crash occurred Wednesday morning near the town of Urda in the Toledo province, where a RENFE train slammed into a stationary IRYO train along a stretch of track bordered by olive groves. At least three carriages were thrown down a gravel embankment by the force of the impact.
Search teams with sniffer dogs and military personnel were still combing through the wreckage Thursday morning as cranes worked to move the mangled rail cars. Regional spokesperson Esther Padilla confirmed 53 people remained hospitalized with 15 in critical condition and warned the death toll could rise.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the crash resulted from a catastrophic sequence of human error at a central command center. A computer malfunction disabled a safety system across a 39-mile stretch of track at 8:30 a.m. causing all trains to halt. The IRYO train was stopped near Urda while the RENFE train sat roughly 15 miles behind it.
Minutes later command operators inexplicably ordered the RENFE train to resume travel at full speed with no restrictions. It struck the motionless IRYO train at 8:53 a.m. Puente said the order should never have been given while a stop signal remained active on the line.
Spain declared three days of national mourning starting Thursday. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the crash site Wednesday and vowed a full investigation pledging to overhaul rail safety standards. He acknowledged that two deadly crashes on the same line within one year was completely unacceptable.
The political fallout has been swift and severe. Sanchez called early elections earlier this month hoping to capitalize on voter frustration over housing costs. The disaster has handed his opponents fresh ammunition with conservative Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo demanding answers while far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal used the tragedy to launch a scathing attack on the government.
Spain’s high-speed rail network is the second largest in the world behind China’s and had operated for more than three decades without a fatal crash before this year. In January 46 people died when a train derailed and struck another in southern Spain on the same line involved in Wednesday’s collision.
The Madrid to Seville high-speed corridor has been shut down indefinitely and state rail operator RENFE has suspended online ticket sales for the route through mid-December.