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At least 68 people were killed in central Spain on Wednesday morning, after a high-speed train slammed into another that had stopped on the tracks Wednesday.
It is Spain’s second deadly high-speed rail crash this year and follows warnings about safety on the network.
Spain train crash: what do we know?
The Castilla-La Mancha regional government said another 58 people required hospital treatment. Rescue workers continued searching the wreckage for survivors and bodies.
Both trains were travelling from Madrid to Seville. The Renfe high-speed AVE service hit the rear of the stationary Iryo train near the town of Urda in Toledo province some 140km (100 miles) south of Madrid, derailing two carriages.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said a computer malfunction had disabled a safety system at around 8:30 a.m., bringing trains to a halt along a 63-kilometer (39-mile) stretch.
A central control center then gave the Renfe train an “inexplicable” instruction to resume its journey without speed restrictions, despite a stop signal remaining active, Puente said. It collided with the Iryo train at 8:53 a.m.
Puente said the train drivers were not to blame. Investigators were still establishing the speed at impact, he added, although trains could travel at 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph) on that stretch.
Images from the scene showed at least two severely damaged train carriages flipped over on their side after tumbling down an embankment.
The high-speed train was reportedly carrying 397 passengers while the other, operated by IRYO, had 146 people on board, according to the Castilla-La Mancha local government spokeswoman.
Spanish PM Sanchez ‘shocked’ by ‘serious’ accident
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was “shocked” by the “serious” accident.
“Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations,” he wrote on social media. “My affection, solidarity and support to all the victims and their families.”
The collision comes just months after another devastating rail disaster near Adamuz in Andalusia in January.
In that accident, a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming train, killing 46 people and injuring more than 150.
The crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people. The January incident shook the confidence the European country has in its extensive high-speed rail network.
