On the morning of the 28th in Spain's Toledo province, a Renfe high-speed train (AVE) struck a stationary Iryo train from behind, killing at least 64 and injuring about 50, Transport Minister Oscar Puente said. Some reports put the toll at 68, and a final count has not been fixed.
The crash occurred shortly before 9 a.m. local time on the 28th near Urda in Toledo province, on the high-speed line linking Madrid and Seville. Local media reports indicate the Renfe AVE hit an Iryo train standing ahead; several cars derailed and two fell down an embankment. Both trains reportedly carried more than 500 people in total.
광고 문의 · 300×250The death toll rose sharply during the day. Early reports spoke of around 10, then 30, then the minister's 64, while the headlines of El Espectador and Infobae said 68. EFE reported that firefighters, civil protection and medical teams were deployed, with three air ambulances and two mobile intensive-care units. Whether Korean or ethnic Chinese victims are among the dead has not been confirmed.
An all-clear after a computer fault
According to Revista Mercado, relaying Puente's account, a computer failure around 8:30 a.m. disabled the automatic train-protection system (LZB) and at least six trains stopped automatically. Infrastructure manager Adif's Madrid control centre authorised the AVE to resume around 8:36, but without applying the restricted-speed procedure that caps trains at 40 km/h. Taiwan's United Daily News likewise reported that the minister cited a signalling-system fault and an instruction from the control side to proceed.
The minister said the AVE then covered about 25 km before hitting the stationary Iryo, despite a red warning signal on the way. Puente called the authorisation inexplicable. He said the person who gave it has been identified but that blame should not be assigned before the technical and judicial investigations conclude. EFE put the preliminary impact speed above 100 km/h, but the exact figure awaits analysis of the records.
Recovery, investigation and mourning
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared three days of national mourning and reportedly cancelled his schedule, and King Felipe VI and others expressed condolences. High-speed service from Madrid toward Ciudad Real and Andalusia was suspended until rescue, inspection and damage assessment are finished; no date for full resumption has been confirmed.
Technical and judicial investigations are running in parallel. The Guardia Civil has opened proceedings to establish how the clearance decision was made, and the key questions are what information controllers had, what was relayed to the driver, and why it was not corrected before impact. A January 18 high-speed accident at Adamuz in Cordoba province killed 46, but Revista Mercado said evidence is not yet sufficient to link the two.