Death toll in Spain's Urda train collision confirmed at 69
Investigators are probing a dispatcher's order that let a Renfe train run into a stopped Iryo train near Urda on Wednesday, Spanish officials said.
Spain's rail accident investigation commission said on Thursday that 69 people were confirmed dead after Wednesday's collision of two high-speed trains near Urda, in the central province of Toledo, correcting an earlier revision that had put the toll at 74. A Renfe train ran into the back of a stationary Iryo train, regional and national officials said.
Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page said about 50 of roughly 180 injured remained hospitalised, some in intensive care, while 60 had been discharged. Spain's foreign ministry said 42 foreign nationals were among those affected: seven were injured, ten were unhurt and the condition of 24 remained unknown.
Recordings of radio traffic from the control room, published by Germany's WELT, appeared to show a dispatcher telling the Iryo train's driver to resume "normal running" even though the automatic train protection system had not been restored and another train was still on the line. Transport Minister Óscar Puente called the decision to let the Renfe train continue an "inexplicable" and "wrong" one. Investigators have not yet said whether human error caused the crash.
Former employment minister Fátima Báñez, 59, was confirmed among the dead, Spain's employers' federation CEOE said; she had been travelling to an event in Seville. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited injured survivors at Toledo's university hospital on Thursday, and Spain has declared a period of national mourning.
Train drivers' union SEMAF held a one-day strike on Thursday to demand better safety measures on the network. Union spokesman Diego Martín criticised the release of the control-room recordings as "alarming and disrespectful," saying investigators, not the public, should establish responsibility. Officials have filed 67 missing-person reports as identification of victims continues; only a handful of the dead have so far been formally named.
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What we know
- A Renfe high-speed train collided with a stationary Iryo train near Urda, Toledo province, on Wednesday.
- Spain's rail accident investigation commission put the confirmed death toll at 69 on Thursday, after briefly revising it to 74.
- About 50 of some 180 injured remained hospitalised, regional president Emiliano García-Page said.
- Recordings of control-room radio traffic indicate a dispatcher told the Iryo driver to resume normal running before the safety system was restored, according to WELT.
- Former minister Fátima Báñez, 59, was among those confirmed dead.
Not yet confirmed
- Whether human error or a technical fault was the cause of the collision
- Whether any German nationals are among the victims
Figure history
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Why it matters for Europe
The crash is one of Europe's deadliest train disasters this century, France 24 reported, and has renewed scrutiny of ageing safety systems on Spain's high-speed network. The Madrid-Seville line has used the German-designed LZB train protection system since 1992; testing of its planned replacement, the European ERTMS system, had begun on the affected section only weeks before the collision.
Sources
Reported by 21 reports from 16 independent outlets in 9 countries.
- ABC: Los Reyes visitarán a los heridos del accidente ferroviario de Urda en el Hospital Universitario de Toledo
- BFMTV: Collision mortelle de trains en Espagne: le bilan monte à 69 morts, toujours 50 blessés hospitalisés
- BFMTV: Collision de trains en Espagne: le bilan grimpe à 69 morts après la découverte d'une nouvelle victime
- Topky.sk: TRAGÉDIA v Španielsku má už 69 obetí: Krajina vyhlásila štátny SMÚTOK
- France 24: Spain's train crash kills 69 people: What exactly happened?
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- How many people died in the Spain train crash?
- Spain's rail investigation commission said 69 people were confirmed dead as of Thursday, after an earlier revision to 74 was corrected.
- What caused the collision?
- Investigators are examining a dispatcher's order to resume normal running before the train protection system had been restored; the official cause has not been confirmed.
- Who else died in the crash?
- Officials confirmed former Spanish employment minister Fátima Báñez, 59, was among the dead.
This article was written with AI assistance from 19 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.