Spain train collision death toll reaches 69, including foreign nationals
The death toll from last week’s high-speed train collision in central Spain has reached 69, making it one of Europe’s deadliest rail disasters this century. Forensics teams have identified all but three victims, confirming the deaths of 54 Spaniards alongside citizens from nine other nations: four from the United States, and one each from Canada, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia, the Czech Republic, France, and Portugal. Active missing-person reports remain for two Australians and one Japanese citizen as authorities await relatives travelling to Spain for in-person identification.
The crash occurred near the village of Urda, roughly 130 kilometres south of Madrid, when a state-run Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary service operated by Iryo. An automatic safety system had halted rail traffic across a 63-kilometre stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey while the other train remained stopped on the line.
The disaster marks Spain’s second fatal high-speed collision this year, after a crash in Andalusia in January killed 46 people, prompting fresh questions about rail safety. The tragedy comes one month before the 29 November general election, in which Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez is seeking to overcome unfavourable polls to extend his eight-year premiership.
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