Collision between two high-speed trains in Spain, at least 68 dead

A high-speed train operated by Renfe collided with an Iryo train that was stopped on the tracks near Urda, in the province of Toledo. The impact occurred at 8.54 on Wednesday, October 28, along the line connecting Madrid to Seville. The provisional toll released by Spanish authorities stands at at least 68 dead and over 150 injured, 24 of them in serious condition.

According to sources within the Spanish government, the collision was caused by human error. The traffic control center is said to have given the Renfe train the order to resume travel despite the block imposed following a fault in the Lzb safety system, which affected a 63-kilometer stretch of the line, still being in force. The train resumed its journey and struck the Iryo train, which was stopped while waiting for the anomaly to be resolved. It is on this sequence of events — the reported fault, the block imposed, the departure order issued nonetheless — that the Spanish authorities’ investigations will focus in the coming days.

Hundreds of people were traveling aboard the two trains: Renfe 2080 was carrying 397 passengers, while Iryo 6076 had 147 on board. Among them were nine Italian citizens. The Farnesina confirmed that three fellow citizens, all women, are currently listed as missing; search efforts continue among the wreckage of the carriages and in the area’s hospitals, where the most seriously injured have been transferred.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning throughout the country. “I am deeply saddened,” the Prime Minister said after learning of the scale of the disaster. The Archbishop of Toledo also traveled to the scene of the accident, describing a “Dantesque scene” in front of the wreckage of the two trains crumpled on the tracks.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella wrote to King Felipe VI of Spain to express, as stated in the letter, Italy’s deep sorrow and closeness to the Spanish people. The message comes as the Farnesina closely monitors the situation of the Italian citizens involved, in contact with local authorities and with healthcare facilities in the Castile-La Mancha region, where the injured are being treated.

The Madrid-Seville line, one of the arteries of the Spanish high-speed rail network, remains closed along the stretch affected by the accident. Regional emergency authorities are coordinating rescue operations together with healthcare services, while work continues to accurately determine the final number of victims and to identify the bodies not yet recognized within the two trains.

It remains to be clarified, in the coming hours, the chain of decisions that led the control center to authorize the departure of the Renfe train while the 63-kilometer stretch was still blocked due to the Lzb system fault. This is the focus of the investigation opened by Spanish authorities, alongside efforts to verify the condition of hospitalized patients and to search for the three Italian citizens still missing.

The toll of 68 dead and over 150 injured, 24 of them serious, remains provisional for the time being: it is the most recent figure released by Spanish authorities and by the Farnesina.