Two high-speed trains crashed in Spain Wednesday morning, leaving at least 68 people dead and another 80 people injured.
The trains collided shortly before 9:15 a.m. on the high-speed line that links Madrid with Spain’s Andalusia region. Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente faulted a failed control system for Wednesday morning’s crash.
The control system in the Spanish town Urda failed, which caused six trains to stop. One train, however, was reportedly allowed to restart and then hit a stopped train at a high speed. Puente said the decision to allow the train to restart was “inexplicable.”
The deadly collision marks the second train crash in Spain this year. In January, 45 people were killed in another high-speed train collision.
A 62-year-old man who was on the train told Reuters that after the initial hit, the train continued to move.
“After the first hit I was disoriented, but the worst thing was that the train then kept moving for quite some time from the inertia and that’s when I thought something would happen to me.”
“It was chaotic. I was close to the doors that were somehow opened, but many people were breaking the windows to escape,” he added. “There were some who couldn’t move because they were trapped under seats. Some were injured, a few seriously so, but not like what I imagine the front part of the train must have been like.”
Other witnesses described people being thrown into the air at the moment of impact.
“Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Sanchez is up for re-election on November 29. One of his political opponents, Santiago Abascal, ripped the current government for overseeing a second train disaster this year.
“Tragedy again. Rage again over the neglect, the ruin, and the betrayal suffered by the Spanish people,” said Abascal.
Before 2026, Spain had one of the lowest train fatality rates in the European Union. Over 90% of Spain’s rail network has the highest level of safety control systems available, according to the European railway agency.
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