Aftermath of Spain train collision
At least 68 people have been killed and dozens injured after a high-speed train collision in Spain’s central province of Toledo. The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha said 58 people were receiving treatment in hospitals. Anger over the crash spilled onto the streets of Madrid on Wednesday night, when around 500 demonstrators gathered outside the Transport Ministry. A January crash in Córdoba province killed more than 40 people, while a separate incident near Barcelona claimed the life of a train driver.
Some protesters threw bottles and flares at police, prompting officers to deploy tear gas to disperse the crowd, Reuters reported.
ADIF took manual control of the system following the failure, according to accounts of the incident. Puente said the train was authorised to continue under circumstances that investigators would need to examine. Videos and photographs from the scene showed overturned carriages, injured passengers and emergency crews working to rescue people trapped in the wreckage. Emergency services rushed to the scene to evacuate passengers, provide medical assistance and search the wreckage for survivors. Injured passengers were taken to nearby medical facilities, including a sports centre converted into a temporary treatment site. Meanwhile, Spanish trade union CSIF has demanded the resignation of the transport minister following the collision. The union accused Puente of shifting responsibility onto a railway official rather than accepting accountability for the disaster. Rescue teams continued searching the damaged carriages as authorities worked to identify victims, assist survivors and establish the cause of the collision. Investigators are expected to examine the signalling system, communications failure and the decision to allow the train to proceed despite the red signal.
The disaster comes after another deadly rail collision in Spain earlier this year.