'Inexplicable' order probed as cause of train crash that killed at least 68: Official
The collision occurred near the towns of Mora, Orgaz and Urda.
LONDON -- At least 68 people were killed after two trains collided on Spain's Madrid-Seville high-speed line, and the death toll is expected to rise, a spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region told ABC News.
The collision occurred at around 8:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday at kilometer marker 118 near Urda and involved a Renfe train and an Iryo train, both traveling from Madrid to Seville, Spain's Transport Ministry told ABC News.
The collision was also the second major train crash in Spain this year on the same high-speed train line and involved the same trains from the same rail operators. In January, two high-speed Iryo and Renfe trains collided near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, killing 46 people. Authorities said one of the trains derailed and another train collided with the derailed cars, Spanish officials said.
During a news conference Wednesday, Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente called the crash "truly unbelievable." He said the preliminary investigation indicates the crash was caused by an "inexplicable" order by the rail controllers to allow one train to proceed despite a safety failure that halted a train on the tracks further ahead.
According to Puente, a computer failure led to the initial halt of six moving trains, including the two trains that subsequently collided.
"In the event of a system failure, the control center takes over," Puente said, adding it was the control center which decided to allow the trains to move again without any speed restrictions. That decision, Puente said, resulted in the Renfe train crashing into the Iryo train, which was stationary on the tracks further ahead.
In addition to those killed, at least 15 people were seriously injured and were taken to area hospitals, and more than 50 were hospitalized with lesser injuries, Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha Region, said during a separate news conference on Wednesday.
Garcia-Page said 24 victims who were killed were found on the Renfe train and the remainder were on the Iryo train. He said search-and-rescue crews are using canines to comb through the wreckage looking for victims.
"All of Spain is mourning. We express our solidarity and deepest sympathy to the relatives of the victims," Garcia-Page said.
Garcia-Page continued, "The ministry is trying to determine the causes of this terrible tragedy and understand how and why it happened. We are going to get to the bottom of this. And if there was any negligence, it will come to light. If there were failures in the safety system, we will address them decisively."
The incident marked the deadliest high-speed train crash in Spain since 2013, when 80 people were killed and more than 170 were injured when a train traveling from Madrid to Ferrol derailed in Galicia in northwest Spain.
"We have suffered two terrible high-speed rail tragedies in a single year. Everything appears to indicate that the causes of both accidents are unrelated, but it is not for me to say," Garcia-Page said at Wednesday's news conference. "That is the role of the independent railway accident investigation commission."
He added, "If we need to further strengthen safety in order to restore confidence in our high-speed rail system, we will do so, because it is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year, as we have."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who traveled on Wednesday to the site of the crash, said in a social media statement that he is "shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo."
"We extend all our solidarity to the families of the victims and to the injured, to whom we wish a speedy recovery. Our main priority is the victims," Sánchez said.
As part of the preliminary investigation of Wednesday's crash, authorities said the Renfe train probably struck the Iryo train from behind, causing two coaches to derail and plummet down an embankment.
The Iryo train was carrying 146 passengers, including one baby, while the Renfe train had 397 passengers, according to the transport ministry.
"It was a terrible crash. The carriage partially overturned. We saw carriages next to it completely wrecked," crash survivor Miguel Ángel Pérez told RTVE, the Spanish national radio and television public broadcasting network.
Ángel Pérez said he was riding with work colleagues in the last car of the Renfe train when the crash occurred. He said that prior to the crash train operators warned that the train was stopping due to "an overload on the track."
"Then it started moving again, and that's when we felt immense impact. We felt the train move, derail and we were tilted. It was a terrible few seconds," Ángel Pérez said.
An American tourist named Dire and his wife said they were headed to Andalusia and were also on the train that had stopped on the tracks before they felt "a huge crash."
"The train moved, things flew everywhere," Dire of Florida told the Spanish news station, Canal 24 Horas. "I looked out the window and saw that the train was completely destroyed. People were screaming, crying, covered in blood... I told my wife, 'We have to leave now,' because we were afraid the train would overturn."
Another passenger, Ana, told reporters that she was traveling on one of the trains with her sister and her dog when the crash occurred, according to Reuters.
"Suddenly, I only heard screams," Ana, who suffered injuries to her face and leg, told Reuters.
In the aftermath of the crash, Ana said passengers broke windows and that firefighters pulled her from the wreckage. "I was covered in blood," she said.
She described the horrific scene of seeing people dying in front of her.
"Some people were fine, and others were really bad. You could see them dying, and you could do nothing," said Ana, who added that she and her sister, who was also injured, were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
In a statement, Iryo said its service 6076, traveling from Madrid to Seville, was involved in the accident near Urda. The company said it had activated all emergency protocols and was working closely with authorities to manage the situation.
As a result of the crash, all Iryo services departing from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha and traveling along the Southern Corridor have been canceled. The company said it had no estimate for when service would resume.
Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia said the government was mobilizing resources and coordinating with relevant institutions to respond to the crash.
“We are mobilizing all the resources at our disposal and coordinating with all the relevant institutions,” Garcia said. “I’m working with the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha to provide any resources it may need. My full support and gratitude go to the emergency personnel dispatched to the area."
The U.S. State Department confirms that several U.S. citizens were injured.
"The Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Madrid are working closely with local authorities to assist Americans,” a department spokesperson said. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those affected.”
The department is asking Americans in need of assistance and those concerned about the safety of loved ones in Spain to get in contact. So far, it has not indicated that any U.S. citizens are among the dead.
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