Spain train crash toll rises to 68; probe focuses on red signal override

• Death toll has risen to 68 with scores injured as a high-speed train hits a stationary service near Urda, south of Madrid

• Investigators examine why the Renfe train was authorised to proceed past a red signal after a safety system failure

• Spain announces three days of mourning; Indian embassy issues emergency contact details for affected nationals

At least 68 people were killed and scores injured when a high-speed passenger train struck the rear of a stationary train in central Spain on Wednesday, prompting an investigation into why it had been allowed to proceed despite a red signal.

The collision occurred near Urda in Toledo province, south of Madrid, on the high-speed route connecting the Spanish capital with Seville. Both trains were travelling south when the state-operated Renfe service hit a train run by private operator Iryo. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced three days of national mourning from 29 to 31 October. Speaking after visiting the area, he pledged to establish what had happened and act firmly if investigators identified negligence.

Transport minister Óscar Puente said a computer fault had disrupted the railway safety system across a 63-kilometre stretch, automatically bringing trains to a halt.

According to his preliminary account, infrastructure manager Adif then assumed manual control. The Renfe train was subsequently authorised to resume its journey despite a red signal protecting the stationary train ahead. Puente described the instruction as inexplicable. The sequence of events remains under investigation.

More than 500 emergency personnel were deployed, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. Rescue teams searched the wreckage under floodlights, while Civil Guard investigators used drones to help reconstruct the collision.

The high-speed link between Madrid and Andalusia remained disrupted, with Renfe announcing that services would also be suspended on Thursday. Adif established assistance points at major stations, including Madrid-Puerta de Atocha, Seville Santa Justa, Córdoba Julio Anguita and Málaga María Zambrano.

Survivors recounted being flung through carriages by the impact, before scrambling out and helping injured passengers.

Josimar Medina, a 37-year-old Peruvian tourist travelling with his girlfriend, Vitoria Maia, said he awoke to find himself airborne. The couple, who were in the seventh carriage of the Renfe train, escaped and assisted others while awaiting emergency crews.

Another survivor, Eduarda Contreras, told CNN that passengers were trapped and some carriages were burning. People broke windows to escape, she said. Several US citizens were among the injured, according to a US State Department spokesperson quoted by CNN.

The disaster renewed scrutiny of Spain’s railway safety following a fatal high-speed collision near Adamuz in Córdoba province in January. A separate commuter train derailment near Barcelona occurred days after that accident.

The Indian Embassy in Madrid asked Indian nationals travelling on the affected trains, or their relatives, to contact the mission for assistance.

It issued the emergency number +34 650 339 008 and email address cons.madrid@mea.gov.in. The embassy also shared the railway operators’ assistance numbers: Renfe: 900 10 10 20 and Iryo: 900 001 403.

With agency inputs