69 dead after collision between two high-speed trains in central Spain
Families gathered in Toledo to search for missing relatives while authorities mobilized 1,300 emergency personnel in response to the crash.
By Fatou Kim ·
At least 69 people died and 180 were injured after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday. The accident occurred when a RENFE train struck an Iryo train that had stopped on the tracks. More than 24 hours later, relatives continued to search for missing loved ones in the town of Toledo.
César Vicente, an actor from Seville, traveled 495 kilometers to reach the site. He was looking for his father, who was seated in 13A on the RENFE train. Vicente spent the night at a religious center that had been converted into a base for those affected by the disaster. "I have my father, and I don’t know where he is. I hope to find him, oh my Lord," Vicente said. He described the situation as unbearable and called the experience hell.
Relatives used social media to post appeals for information. Many shared photographs and described the clothing worn by their family members when they boarded the trains bound for Seville. Alejandra Marroquín posted on Instagram that her sister Adriana was in car 8 of the RENFE train. Marroquín stated that her sister was wearing dark blue clothes and that the family had not been able to reach her. "We’re still praying, we don’t know anything," Marroquín said on Thursday morning.
Search teams deployed sniffer dogs to continue locating victims. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters that the government was working to support families and improve security. "The entire government is working to respond to the victims’ families, shed light on the tragedy, and strengthen security so that this never happens again," Sánchez said.
This incident marks the second high-speed rail disaster in Spain this year. In January, 46 people died when a train derailed and crashed into another in southern Spain. Spain operates the world’s second-largest high-speed rail network, behind only China. The system had not experienced a fatal crash since it began operations more than three decades ago.
The crash disrupted daily life in Urda, a small town of approximately 2,500 residents south of Madrid. Local residents rushed to assist the injured and unharmed passengers. Many drove cars to the tracks to transport people to a nearby sports pavilion. David Gómez, a construction worker, told El País that he and his colleagues cut through fences to reach the scene. They used first-aid kits to treat victims until emergency services arrived.
Authorities issued a call for blood donations after 110 of the injured were taken to hospitals. More than 2,000 people volunteered in the Castilla-La Mancha region, where the collision occurred. Emiliano García-Page, the regional president, thanked the volunteers for their record-breaking number of donations. He also expressed gratitude to the 1,300 emergency service personnel who were mobilized for the response.
The RENFE and Iryo trains were both traveling at high speeds when the collision occurred. The Iryo train had stopped on the tracks before the impact. Rescue efforts focused on clearing the debris and treating the 180 injured passengers. The families of the missing continue to gather at the temporary base in Toledo as investigations into the cause of the crash proceed.
