Spain Train Crash Live: At Least 68 Dead After High-Speed Trains Collide Near Toledo

11:59 AM ET · Judge in Orgaz leads probe; opposition demands rail review

The duty judge at the court in Orgaz, in Toledo province, has taken charge of the judicial investigation, with five judges sharing tasks such as removing bodies and authorizing work at the site, Cadena SER reported.

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the conservative Popular Party called for a judicial and government investigation carried out “without interference” and a full, independent review of Spain’s rail network. He said there was still no confirmed news of former labor minister Fátima Báñez, whom Seville mayor José Luis Sanz said was aboard the Iryo train, according to Cadena SER. The left-wing Andalusian party Adelante Andalucía called on Transport Minister Óscar Puente to resign, saying the blame cannot fall only on one worker.

Renfe set up special trains on the conventional line linking Madrid, Ciudad Real and Puertollano for passengers who already had tickets, and Iberia added flights to Andalusia and capped fares on those routes through Nov. 8, Cadena SER reported. Cadena SER’s running tally now lists at least 80 people in hospital; The Boston Report has not yet seen a regional government statement with that figure.

11:48 AM ET · Ministry: AVE was moving at about 200 km/h; worker questioned

Transport Ministry sources told Europa Press that the Adif control center let all six stopped trains resume normal running against railway rules, which allow only “on sight” running at up to 40 km/h when the LZB system is down. The Renfe AVE then reached about 200 km/h before hitting the Iryo train at 8:53 a.m. local time, the sources said. Puente said the AVE covered about 25 kilometers in roughly 17 minutes, COPE reported. Accounts of the length of track left without LZB coverage vary, from about 60 to 90 kilometers.

The Adif employee who authorized the restart was questioned by Civil Guard judicial police and is under watch and receiving psychological care, the news site Vozpópuli reported; officials have not confirmed that detail. García-Page said firefighters need a judge’s authorization before cranes and the military emergency unit can move wrecked cars to search for more victims, according to Cadena SER.

11:47 AM ET · Most victims were on the Iryo train; 58 in hospital

García-Page said at least 44 of the 68 dead were aboard the Iryo train and 24 aboard the Renfe AVE, Cadena SER reported. He said the toll was expected to rise because rescuers had not reached the deepest parts of the wreckage, and that canine units would search for anyone still alive.

The Castilla-La Mancha government said at 2 p.m. local time (9 AM ET) that 58 people remained in hospital, 15 triaged red (life-threatening) and 43 yellow, EFE reported via Antena 3. Of those placed so far, 21 were at Toledo’s University General Hospital, 8 at Mancha Centro in Alcázar de San Juan, 3 at Ciudad Real General and 1 at Albacete General. About 50 people with minor injuries were cared for in sports halls in Urda and Consuegra, ABC reported. Toledo’s University Hospital cancelled scheduled surgeries and appealed for blood donations, laSexta reported.

The CEOE business confederation said on X that Fátima Báñez, a former Spanish labor minister who heads its foundation, was aboard one of the trains, the BBC reported. Her condition has not been officially reported. Authorities have not released victims’ nationalities.

11:45 AM ET · Civil Guard opens DNA collection offices for victims’ families

The Civil Guard asked first-degree relatives of people who may have been aboard the two trains (parents and children) to go to its offices in Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville to report missing loved ones and give DNA samples, saying identification was its top priority, ABC and RTVE reported. Police sources told ABC that the first DNA matches could come within hours, and within about 24 hours. The central government’s delegation in Castilla-La Mancha said the bodies were being taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Toledo, according to RTVE.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said in a statement on X that they were “deeply saddened” by the crash and sent support to the injured and to emergency crews, AP reported. Speaking to reporters at a military base in Bétera, near Valencia, the king said all the circumstances of the crash were being examined and that he had spoken with regional president García-Page, RTVE reported. El Español reported that he cut short his schedule to return to Madrid.

10:50 AM ET · Sánchez declares three days of mourning

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain would observe three days of official mourning from Oct. 29 through Oct. 31. “Spain is in mourning and embraces the victims,” he said, according to the Guardian’s translation.

Sánchez said the government would work with independent rail accident investigators and the courts to establish what happened. “If there has been any negligence, it will come to light,” he said, adding that any safety-system failures would be addressed. He called it “unacceptable” for Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in one year. He took no questions.

10:44 AM ET · Regional president: at least 68 dead

Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page, speaking at the scene before Sánchez, said the latest data showed at least 68 deaths. He said about 15 people had severe or critical injuries and 53 had been hospitalized with moderate injuries. Earlier in the day, regional officials had given tolls of 10 and then 64.

The Spanish newspaper El Español, citing Civil Protection, reported more than 179 people injured in total. That broader figure has not been matched by a regional government statement seen by The Boston Report.

10:33 AM ET · Civil Guard questions Adif control-center worker

Civil Guard officers questioned the Adif control-center employee who was managing traffic on the Madrid–Seville high-speed line at the time of the crash, Europa Press reported, citing sources in the investigation. The officers are assisting technical investigators from the rail accident investigation body.

9:55 AM ET · Transport minister describes signalling failure and “inexplicable” order

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said that at about 8:30 a.m. local time, the LZB train-control system lost communications over a little more than 60 kilometers of track, which automatically stopped six trains. About six minutes later, he said, Adif’s control center issued a manual instruction allowing traffic to resume. Over roughly the next 25 minutes, the Renfe train covered about 25 kilometers before hitting the stationary Iryo train.

Puente said a signalling failure “can happen” but that strict procedures apply, including running “on sight” at no more than 40 km/h. He said the person who authorized the restart has been identified and is subject to the investigation. “We are absolutely devastated,” he said, per the Guardian. He did not answer a question about whether he would resign.

8:36 AM ET · Accident investigators reach the site

Three investigators from Spain’s former rail accident commission (CIAF), now part of an independent transport accident investigation authority, were working at the scene with Civil Guard forensic specialists, El Español reported. They plan to examine both trains’ juridical recorders, or “black boxes,” Adif’s control-center logs and operator data, and to interview staff and witnesses.

Renfe said in a statement, reported by Reuters, that its train had been authorized to continue and then struck the Iryo train, which had stayed stopped “for reasons we don’t know.”

5:00 AM ET · First toll reported; high-speed line shut

The Castilla-La Mancha government first reported 10 deaths and warned the figure would rise, France 24 reported. Regional spokeswoman Esther Padilla said 397 passengers were aboard the Renfe train and 147 aboard the Iryo train. Infrastructure manager Adif suspended high-speed traffic between Madrid and Andalusia, and the regional government requested Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) to help with rescue work, according to El Español.

3:54 AM ET · Two high-speed trains collide in Toledo province

Renfe’s AVE 2080, which left Madrid at 8 a.m. local time, struck Iryo train 6076 at kilometer point 118 between Los Yébenes and Urda at 8:54 a.m. local time, El Español reported. The Renfe unit is a Siemens train and the Iryo unit a Hitachi train. Two Iryo cars left the track, according to the regional government.