Follow-Up: Spain Train Crash Toll Rises to 64 — Regional President Confirms 64 Dead and 80 Injured, Early Signs Point to Control-Centre Human Error

Two high-speed trains collided on the morning of October 28 local time near Urda, in Toledo province in Spain's Castilla-La Mancha region. The region's president, Emiliano García-Page, announced in the afternoon that the death toll had risen to at least 64 — 40 people aboard the private operator IRYO's train and 24 aboard state operator RENFE's AVE train — with another 80 people injured, 50 of them seriously and 15 very seriously. He said rescuers had found more victims after reaching the IRYO train's worst-damaged cars, and that the toll could still rise.

The figure is another sharp upward revision of the official count. When GSM first reported the crash this morning, the region had confirmed at least 31 dead; Civil Protection sources later put the toll at at least 46. Speaking to reporters at the forward command post at the scene, García-Page said only six deaths had initially been confirmed aboard the IRYO train; after rescuers prised open its crushed cars, 34 bodies had been recovered and six more victims remained inside the wreckage, making 40 in total. He called it a staggering figure and expressed his sorrow to the victims' families.

The cause remains under investigation, but an initial theory has emerged. According to Spain's El País and other outlets, central government and Transport Ministry sources said early indications pointed to human error: after a fault in the main signalling system forced a switch to manual operation, the Atocha control centre in Madrid allegedly failed to warn the AVE train that the IRYO train was stopped on the line ahead, and the AVE was allowed to proceed and struck it from behind. Transport Minister Óscar Puente went to the H24 control centre at Atocha run by rail infrastructure operator ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias) to gather information. Officials stressed that this remains a preliminary assessment and that the final conclusion rests with the official investigation.

The crash happened at about 8:55 a.m. at kilometre point 118 of the Madrid–Seville high-speed line. RENFE's AVE service 2080, which had left Madrid's Puerta de Atocha station at 8:00 a.m. carrying 397 people, rear-ended IRYO service 6076, which was stopped on the same line carrying 146 passengers and a baby; two of the IRYO train's cars derailed and fell down an embankment, and several AVE cars also left the track. The two trains were carrying 544 people in total. High-speed services in the corridor between Madrid and Andalusia remain suspended, more than 100 trains have been affected, and no reopening time has been given; regional sources said firefighters were close to completing the recovery of bodies from the wreckage. King Felipe VI said he was following developments closely, had spoken to the regional president, and offered the bereaved his condolences and support; a European Commission spokeswoman said the EU was ready to support Spain in any way needed.

The crash is Spain's deadliest train disaster since the 2013 Santiago de Compostela derailment, which killed 80 people, and the second fatal crash this year involving the same line and the same two operators: in January, two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, killing 46 people. Central government sources told El País the final toll from Wednesday's crash could exceed that of the Adamuz accident.

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 在西班牙运行的IRYO同型ETR1000（109型）高速列车（资料图，非事故列车与现场）。照片：Sergioorozco96，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。事故现场照片为通讯社图片，本站不使用。

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