Two Australians are among the 69 people killed in last week’s horror train crash in Spain, local authorities have confirmed.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla-La Mancha – the body tasked with coordinating and overseeing the judicial investigation and legal response to the crash – confirmed it has formally identified all victims of the disaster.
The tragedy last week saw a high-speed train smash into the rear of another on the line running south from Madrid, killing 69 people and injuring almost 200.
On Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Australian diplomats were supporting the family of two Australians in connection with the collision.
The department expressed its “heartfelt condolences” for all affected by the train crash, but did not comment on the fate of the Australians involved in the tragedy.
Most of those killed — 54 of the 69 victims — were Spanish nationals. Other foreigners among the fatalities who have been identified include four Americans, two Japanese and one each from Canada, France, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Tunisia and the Czech Republic.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente blamed the disaster on human error, with a control centre in Madrid failing to tell the driver of a high-speed Renfe AVE service that another train, run by private operator Iryo, was stationary on the tracks ahead.
But the minister’s comments provoked a furore, with rail unions accusing him of “scapegoating” the rail control workers and demanding his resignation, while the train operators offered different accounts of what drivers had been told.
The Renfe AVE train had 397 passengers, while the Iryo train was carrying 147.
The crash in the province of Toledo came just nine months after another collision farther south on the same Madrid-Seville line killed 46 people. The collisions have shaken confidence in the Spanish rail network that has long been hailed for its speed and safety.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged an investigation and improvements to restore trust in the system that carried some 45 million travellers last year, including millions of tourists.
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