Spain high speed train crash
A high speed train collision near Urda killed at least 69 people. The transport minister has resigned and most victims have been identified.
IllustrationThe story so far
On October 28, a high speed train struck a stopped train near Urda in Toledo province, killing at least 69 people and injuring 58. The disaster was Spain's second fatal rail collision this year, ending a run of more than three decades without such crashes. Three days of national mourning were observed.
Authorities identified 66 of the 69 victims, leaving three missing: two Australians and one Japanese citizen. The dead included 54 Spaniards, four Americans, and citizens from Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia, the Czech Republic, France, and Portugal. Dr. Marta Shahbazi, a University of Cambridge scientist, was among those killed while travelling to a conference.
On November 3, Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned, citing the severity of two accidents in less than a year. Leaked audio indicated a train was given clearance to move despite another being stopped 25 kilometers ahead. Unions blamed understaffing, while the minister initially pointed to a traffic controller.
Latest updates
4 updates · newest first- 3 NovNew development
Spain's transport minister resigns after train crash killed 69
Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned six days after a high-speed train collision near Urda, south of Madrid, killed at least 69 people. He told Congress that a transport minister cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year, also citing a deadly crash in Andalusia in January. Leaked audio showed a train was given clearance to move even though another had stopped on the track about 25 kilometers ahead.
Sky News ↗
BBC News ↗
- 2 NovNew development
Spain train crash: 66 of 69 victims identified
Authorities identified 66 of the 69 people killed when a high-speed train struck a stopped train outside Urda, Toledo province, leaving three missing: two Australians and one Japanese citizen. Among the dead were 54 Spaniards, four Americans and citizens from Canada, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia, the Czech Republic, France and Portugal. The crash, Spain's second high-speed collision this year, occurred a month before a general election.
The Guardian ↗
ABC News ↗
- 2 NovNew development
Four Americans among at least 69 killed in Spain train crash
Four Americans were among at least 69 people killed when a high-speed train struck a stopped train in central Spain on Oct. 28. The crash in Urda, Toledo province, injured 58 and was the second fatal rail collision on the Madrid-Seville line this year, ending a run of more than three decades without fatal crashes. Spain's transport minister blamed a traffic controller, while unions cited understaffing and worsening working conditions.
CBS News ↗
- 1 NovNew development
Cambridge scientist dies in Spain train crash that killed at least 69
Dr Marta Shahbazi, a University of Cambridge scientist, was among at least 69 people killed in a high speed train collision near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday. She was travelling to a conference in El Rompido to receive a scientific excellence prize from the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology. The disaster was Spain's second high speed rail crash this year, and three days of national mourning were observed.