Spain train crash toll reaches 68; Renfe hit stopped Iryo

At least 68 people were killed when a Renfe high-speed train apparently struck the back of a stopped Iryo train near Urda, in Spain’s Toledo province, on Wednesday morning, ABC News and Fox News reported, in the country’s deadliest rail crash since 2013.

The toll is up from the 30 deaths reported in our first report on Wednesday, and officials expect it to rise further.

Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, said 24 victims were found on the Renfe train and the remainder on the Iryo train, ABC News reported. He said at least 15 people were seriously injured and more than 50 more were hospitalized with lesser injuries. Fox News put the number needing hospital treatment at 58.

Both trains were travelling from Madrid to Seville on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, near kilometre marker 118 between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, about 150 kilometres south of Madrid, ABC News reported. Spain’s Transport Ministry said the Renfe train carried 397 passengers and the Iryo train, service 6076, carried 146, including a baby. Two coaches derailed and fell down an embankment, ABC reported.

Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government, said the cause is not yet known, Fox News reported. Garcia-Page said causes will be determined by the independent railway accident investigation commission and that any negligence or safety-system failure would be addressed.

Survivor accounts point to a stop before the impact. Miguel Angel Perez, a passenger who spoke to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, said the train had stopped with operators warning of “an overload on the track” and then restarted before the collision, ABC News reported. That account is one passenger’s and has not been confirmed by investigators.

Health Minister Monica Garcia said the government was mobilizing all the resources at its disposal and coordinating with regional authorities. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that he was dismayed by the accident and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families, Fox News reported. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said they were deeply saddened.

Iryo said it activated all emergency protocols and cancelled all its services from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha on the Southern Corridor, with no estimate of when they would resume, ABC reported. Travellers booked on the line should check with Renfe and Iryo.

The crash is the second deadly high-speed accident in Spain this year. A January collision near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, killed 46 and also involved Iryo and Renfe trains. Garcia-Page said everything indicates the causes are unrelated, ABC reported. The deadliest Spanish rail disaster of recent decades killed 80 people in Galicia in 2013.

The U.S. State Department said several U.S. citizens were injured. None of the reports reviewed mentioned Canadians. Canadians in Spain who need help can contact Global Affairs Canada’s emergency line through travel.gc.ca, which also carries the current advisory for Spain.

Via ABC News: train collision on Spain’s high-speed line, and Fox News: Spain high-speed railway crash kills at least 68.

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