Two high-speed trains crashed in Spain shortly before 9am Wednesday, killing at least 68 people and wounding nearly 80 others, causing the suspension of railway services between Madrid and the southern region of Andaluzia.
The accident is the deadliest in Spain since 2013 and is the second high-speed train crash in the same line in nine months, following an accident in January on this line that killed 46 people.
An express train Iryo stopped at the red light when it crashed from a high – speed Renfe train between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, near Toledo, some 118 miles [ 118 km] south of Madrid by train.
Addressing reporters in Madrid, Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said a defect in computer communications had automatically stopped traffic. Puente said that the fatal train accident occurred after a wrong decision was made to resume the high-speed train Renfe, despite red traffic, violating protocol.
The whole of Spain is in mourning, said Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He added that it is a priority to understand why the tragedy occurred. If there was any negligence, it would come to light, he said.
Ester Padilla, spokeswoman for the regional government of Castilla La Mancha, said 147 people, including a baby, were aboard the Iryo train and 397 passengers were traveling with Renfe service, writes Reuters.
Before this year’s accidents, the last major railway disaster in Spain occurred in 2013, when 80 people were killed and another 145 were injured after a high – speed train came out of track at a sharp bend near the northwest city of Santiago de Compostela.
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