Spain train crash toll rises to 68; minister calls controller's restart order 'inexplicable'

The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said that 24 of the victims were found on the Renfe train and the rest on the Iryo train. At least 15 people were seriously injured, and more than 50 were taken to hospital with lesser injuries, according to the early reports. Another account puts the number of injured at about 179. The counts have differed through the day, and the first reports gave a toll of 10.

The minister's account

Transport Minister Oscar Puente gave the first official account of how it happened. He said that a computer failure initially halted six moving trains, including the two that later collided. The control centre then allowed the trains to move again without speed restrictions. Puente called that order inexplicable and said that it led the Renfe train to strike the Iryo train, which was stationary further ahead. He called the crash truly unbelievable. One account says the released train travelled about 25 km before hitting the stopped train at high speed.

The Transport Ministry is working to establish the causes, and an independent railway accident investigation commission is responsible for the official inquiry. The infrastructure manager Adif is also examining the sequence of events. Garcia-Page said that if there were safety failures, they would be addressed. No official cause has been confirmed, and the minister's statement is the main official version so far. There has been no direct comment from the controllers or from Renfe on the decision.

The response

Emergency services, military rescue teams and search dogs searched the wreckage, and survivors described being pulled from the carriages by firefighters. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the site, and King Felipe VI and Sanchez expressed their condolences. Iryo cancelled all services from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha on the southern corridor, with no estimate for when they will resume, and the line between Madrid and Andalusia has been suspended. The US State Department said that several Americans were injured, and that none were reported dead so far.

The accounts differ on the number of injured, from at least 15 seriously hurt and more than 50 in hospital with lesser injuries to about 179 in total, and the toll itself went from 10 in the first reports to 30, then 64 and then 68 during the day. The figures are likely to change again as the search of the wreckage and the identification of the victims continue.

In January, trains run by the same two operators collided near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, on the same Madrid-Seville line, and 45 or 46 people died, depending on the account. García-Page said that the causes of the two accidents appear to be unrelated. The earlier crash was blamed in early statements on the possibility of track damage or a train fault, which investigators were checking.

The central question is why the control centre let trains move without speed restrictions after the computer failure, and what safety systems were in place at that point. Investigators will look at the records of the control system, the communications between the centre and the drivers, and the data from the trains. Until their report is published, the minister's account is a description of the sequence and not a finding of responsibility.

Reports have not mentioned Indian nationals among the dead or injured. Relatives of Indians travelling in Spain can contact the Indian embassy in Madrid for information.