Spain has begun three days of mourning after a high-speed rail collision – its second this year – killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.
The trains, one from Spain’s state-owned Renfe and the other from the private rail company Iryo, were travelling on Wednesday morning in the same direction on the line that stretches from the Spanish capital, Madrid, to the southern region of Andalusia. After the Iryo train came to a halt, the other slammed into its rear, knocking several carriages off the track near the town of Urda.
Officials said on Wednesday another 107 people had needed medical treatment in hospital, including 15 who were in a serious condition.
The disaster has raised fresh questions about safety on Spain’s rail network after the transport minister reported an “error” and “inexplicable circumstances” that led to the crash.
Emergency services combed through the wreckage overnight to find further victims, hoisting pieces of mangled metal with cranes, according to Agence France-Presse.
Emiliano García-Page, the leader of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, told reporters on Wednesday that more victims were likely as “it has not yet been possible to reach the bottom of the carriages”.
The Civil Guard has set up four offices in the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville to enable relatives to provide DNA samples and help identify victims. Blood donation points have also been set up in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.
A school in the nearby village of Urda, around 130km (80 miles) south of Madrid, is being used to allow relatives to enquire about their loved ones. Teams of Red Cross workers offered support to groups of people who arrived, some of them in tears.
Red Cross psychologist Carmen Garcia said “long and hard hours” were in store because “every person will manage it in their own way”. “We have people who are in shock, who haven’t taken on board what has happened, angry people, sad, worried people. The grieving will be complicated,” Garcia said.
In January, 46 people were killed and dozens more injured after two trains – again, one from Renfe and one from Iryo – collided on the same line near the town of Adamuz in Andalucía.
The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said it was “unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed train accidents in the same year, as we have”.
The causes of the accident were under investigation, he added. If it emerged that it was due to failures in the security system or negligence, these shortcomings would be addressed with the “utmost severity”, he said.
The first victims to be named included a 31-year-old Guardia civil agent, José Manuel Chacón.
The national law enforcement agency expressed its “deepest condolences” to his family, friends and colleagues. Spanish media said the missing included a former minister for the People’s party and several foreigners who were likely on holiday in the country.
The opposition People’s party leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called for an immediate investigation into what had happened, as well as a “complete and independent review” of Spain’s entire rail network. “Spain has the right to know what is going on with its infrastructure,” he told reporters.
