Spain declares three days of mourning after high-speed train crash kills 68

Two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday just before 9:00 am, killing at least 68 people and injuring 77 others. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared a three-day national period of mourning following the accident. The crash occurred between the small towns of Urda and Los Yebenes, located south of Toledo.

A Renfe train traveling from Madrid to Seville struck a stationary train operated by the Italian consortium Iryo. The moving train carried approximately 500 passengers. Rescuers searched the wreckage of three carriages at the front of the Renfe service for survivors. The impact left the front of the train severely damaged, with passengers describing the scene as a twisted mass of metal.

Passenger Fernando Seco told state broadcaster TVE that the train had just resumed its journey after a brief stop before the collision. He said people were thrown through the air and seats were flying. Joaquim Torres, another passenger, said he held a woman in his arms and tried to comfort her before she stopped breathing. Sebastian Herrero, a 46-year-old doctor on board, compared the sound and force of the crash to a bomb going off.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that the Renfe train was authorized to continue despite an active red signal. He explained that a computer communications failure had automatically halted traffic and triggered the red signal. Puente described the order from the central command center to proceed as inexplicable and said the train engineers were not to blame. Renfe has opened an investigation, and a judicial inquiry is expected to begin shortly.

This disaster occurs nine months after another crash on the same line at Adamuz, near Cordoba, which killed 46 people. A preliminary investigation attributed that previous accident to a rail fracture, though a police investigation has not concluded. Sanchez said it is not acceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two major train disasters in one year. The general election is scheduled for November 29.

Politics has entered the debate surrounding the crash. Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo of the People's Party called for a complete and independent review of the entire rail network. The union Solidarity, which is linked to the far-right Vox party, demonstrated in Madrid on Wednesday night demanding Puente's resignation. Riot police were deployed during the demonstration. Rail unions had already planned a strike for Thursday over what they describe as a poor safety record.

European Commission data shows that Spain spent an average of about $1.67 billion a year on high-speed lines between 2018 and 2022. Only 16 percent of that budget went to maintenance or repairs. Italy, Germany, and France spent between 33 and 39 percent of their budgets on maintenance. Spain's safety authority AESF counted 69 rail accidents in 2025, up from 45 in 2016. Salvador Garcia-Ayllon, a civil engineering professor at the Universidad Politecnica in Cartagena, said authorities have not spent enough on maintenance in recent years.

Volunteers from Urda brought food, water, and blankets to the scene and offered transport to those affected. Relatives waited at Seville station holding photographs of loved ones who never arrived. The investigation into the technical failure and the subsequent decision to release the train will determine if further safety changes are required across the network.