Emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in a rural area in the central province of Toledo as cranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday’s crash.

“Rescue teams are still working very carefully, because we still cannot say with certainty that there are no more victims trapped in the twisted wreckage,” Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, told TVE.

“A canine unit was deployed yesterday. They will go back in today to make sure that nobody else remains there,” she added.

Meanwhile, train drivers in Spain went ahead with a previously planned strike to press for more investment in railway safety after what is Europe’s deadliest train accident since a 2013 derailment in Spain’s Santiago de Compostela.

The crash, which followed another fatal accident in January involving the same rail companies on the same line, has also upended campaigning for a November 29 snap election, with the leaders of Spain’s two main parties suspending campaign events.

Spain’s government has declared three days of national mourning for those killed when one high-speed train hit another.

POLITICAL LEADERS TRAVEL TO CRASH AREA

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to travel to Toledo on Thursday morning to take part in a meeting to monitor and coordinate the emergency response.

Meanwhile, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, leader of the centre-right People’s Party (PP), which is currently leading in polls, was due to travel to the town of Urda near the crash site.

The crash has reopened a debate about safety on Spain’s railways, Europe’s longest and until recently a source of pride in the country.

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Wednesday the crash happened after several trains stopped automatically due to a signal failure. A state-run Renfe train was then authorised to proceed at normal speed even though there was a stationary Iryo-operated train ahead.

SEMAF, the Spanish train drivers’ union, said it did not want to speculate on the cause of the crash.

“We wish to exercise caution until we have a detailed understanding of exactly what happened, so as not to engage in speculation,” SEMAF said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Train drivers would go ahead with the strike that had already been planned before the accident to press for structural changes in railway safety, SEMAF said, adding that it was studying further action.

(Reuters)

Spain’s transport minister said Wednesday’s crash south of Madrid occurred after a Renfe train was authorised to continue its journey despite there being an active red signal because of a stationary train on the track ahead.

Oscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the red signal was issued due to a computer communications failure, which automatically stopped traffic, and an erroneous decision had been made to restart the Renfe train, in a breach of protocol.

Ambulances, funeral home vans and helicopters were parked next to one of the trains on an elevated section of track, while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage were strewn across an embankment down which at least three carriages had plunged.

RESCUERS LOOKING FOR MORE VICTIMS

Evacuated passengers streamed along a nearby road. Some were splattered with blood or had bandaged wounds, while others wheeled suitcases and were handed water by volunteers.

Miguel, who was travelling with several colleagues in the rear carriage of one of the trains, described the moment of the accident and its immediate aftermath.

“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train,” he told COPE radio.

The head of Castilla-La Mancha’s regional government said the death toll had risen to 68, while rescue workers were still going carriage by carriage looking for other crash victims.

OPERATOR RENFE SAYS CIRCUMSTANCES BEING INVESTIGATED

The collision comes after an accident in January between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators and on the same line that killed 46 people.

In that crash a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, prompting a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.

A person briefed on Wednesday’s disaster said a train operated by private consortium Iryo stopped near Toledo on orders from infrastructure manager Adif due to a signal fault.

A train operated by Renfe then struck the stationary train at high speed, causing several carriages of both trains to derail, the person said.

Renfe said in a statement that after being authorised to continue its journey, its train had crashed into the Iryo train that had remained stationary “for reasons we don’t know”.

“The Renfe train continued on its way as instructed, and a collision occurred. The exact sequence of events, the traffic conditions and the circumstances of the impact will have to be established by the investigation,” Renfe said.

There was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment from Iryo or Adif.

PASSENGER DESCRIBES SEEING FATALITIES

Authorities gave no immediate figure for the number of injured but Health Minister Mónica García urged people in a post on X to donate blood. Castilla-La Mancha region spokesperson Esther Padilla said 147 people had been travelling on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.

The accident is the deadliest in Europe since a 2013 crash in Spain’s Santiago de Compostela left 80 people dead.

Eduarda, a passenger on the Iryo train, told Cadena SER radio she felt a strong impact that threw her forward, initially making her think the train had made an emergency stop.

She only realised the seriousness of the accident after seeing injured people and being told to evacuate.

After climbing down an embankment to safety, she saw what she described as a catastrophic scene, with part of the train hanging down the slope and a fire in one carriage.

Emergency responders, including a helicopter, police and ambulances, arrived within about 20 minutes, she said. “I saw dead people,” she said.

The Renfe and Iryo trains crashed just after 9 a.m., causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region said.

Renfe said it had activated a special line for families of victims and expressed its condolences. Iryo said it had activated emergency protocols.

The causes of the January accident near Cordoba are still under investigation. A preliminary report by Spain’s Civil Guard in February pointed to defects in the track, rail or weld between two sections of track as the main hypothesis for the accident, but kept seven other theories open.

ELECTION DUE NEXT MONTH

The latest accident comes as Spain gears up for an election on November 29. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was on his way to the scene of the crash, his office said. The opposition People’s Party cancelled all campaign events, a spokesperson said.

“Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families,” Sanchez said on X.

Accidents, including derailments and collisions, increased from 45 in 2016 to 57 in 2024 and 69 last year, according to Spain’s railway safety authority.

Some 25 million passengers used a high-speed train in Spain in the first half of the year, a decline of roughly 14% compared with the same period last year, according to a Reuters analysis of data from Spain’s competition authority.

European Commission data shows Spain’s maintenance investment in its roughly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) of high-speed lines has lagged large European peers, despite an unmatched drive to expand the network.

Spain spent an average of about €1.5 billion a year from 2018 to 2022 on its high-speed network, more than any other country. The vast majority went to new infrastructure with only some 16% earmarked for maintenance, renewal and upgrades.

(Reuters)

Evacuated passengers streamed along a road near the scene, some splattered with blood or with their wounds bandaged, others wheeling suitcases and being given water by volunteers who said it had been donated from neighbouring towns.

Hundreds of ambulances, funeral home vans and helicopters were parked next to a train with several carriages sitting on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line where at least three carriages had plunged.

Miguel, a passenger travelling with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains, described to COPE radio the moment of the accident.

“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train,” he said.

A person briefed on the disaster said a train operated by private consortium Iryo stopped near Toledo on orders from infrastructure manager ADIF due to a signal fault.

A train operated by Renfe then struck the stationary train at high speed, causing several carriages of both trains to derail, the person said.

Renfe said in a statement that after a being authorised to continue its journey, its train had crashed into the Iryo train that had remained stationary “for reasons we don’t know”.

“The Renfe train continued on its way as instructed, and a collision occurred. The exact sequence of events, the traffic conditions and the circumstances of the impact will have to be established by the investigation,” Renfe said.

There was no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment from Iryo or Adif.

(Reuters)

Footage from regional Castilla-La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line.

Miguel, a passenger travelling with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains, described to COPE radio the moment of the accident.

“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train – I imagine it must have been the other one,” he said.

DEATH TOLL LIKELY TO RISE

Castilla-La Mancha region spokesperson Esther Padilla said the number of casualties was likely to rise.

She said 147 people had been travelling on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.

The collision comes nine months after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators on the same line that killed 46 people.

That crash in January, which occurred after a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, triggered a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s agenda, published on the Spanish government’s website, had been cleared for the day. The opposition People’s Party also cancelled all campaign events ahead of a snap election on November 29, a spokesperson said.

“Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families,” Sanchez said on X.

The Renfe and Iryo trains crashed just after 9 a.m. (0800 GMT), causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region said, adding that the cause was not yet clear.

Rail operator Adif said the incident occurred on the line from Madrid to Seville.

Manuel Galan, the mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told Cadena SER that emergency services had asked the town council to prepare emergency facilities, including a sports hall, to accommodate passengers and the injured.

(Reuters)

Nine suspects facing charges of causing death by negligence were brought again on Friday before the Kyrenia ‘district court’, which ordered them held for another seven days.

The recordings include discussions of faults in the rudder, radar and cameras, and of water coming in on earlier trips. Crew members can be heard saying “this ship will sink”, while in another recording the captain says its condition is very bad and it is taking on water.

The Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ said 32 days of recordings from the voyage data recorder had been examined and another 34 days remained. There is no audio recording from the day of the sinking.

A university expert and a team of experts from Turkey will take part in the investigation. The number of people wanted in the case has risen to six, and the search continues for a three-year-old girl who is missing.

Relatives of the victims gathered again outside the ‘court’, calling for justice and protesting about the slow progress of the investigation.

Information from Cyprus News Agency

A second accident has now occurred, a five car pile up near Ayios Tychonas.

Police on scene facilitating traffic and providing assistance to drivers, who are advised to reduce speed and comply with all the necessary directions.

The accident happened on the main Polis Chrysochous-Yiolou road in the Paphos district, around midnight.

The 42 year old, found to be driving with 115 mg of alcohol in his blood, over five times the allowed limit of 22, suffered various injuries to his torso and was kept for treatment and observation, following an initial arrest. The driver and passengers in the 2nd car, escaped unhurt.

The Polis police precinct is investigating the circumstances of the accident, as intoxicated drivers and speeding remain the number one cause of serious road accidents in Cyprus.

Police are calling on drivers to be aware that hunters and their dogs are moving in and around public provincial roads in hunting designated regions.

They are advised to reduce speed when going through these areas and be vigilant so they can react quickly, should dogs suddenly run onto the road.

Most of the victims were brought dead to the Lady Reading Hospital, along with 20 others who were wounded, hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim said.

The private Al-Khair Education Center school is located in Dir Colony of the northern city. Rescue teams were working to shift bodies and the injured to hospitals, government official Bilal Faizi said.

A rescue official said the roof of a higher floor collapsed on the roof of the first floor of the building which in turn collapsed on students in classes.

Television visuals showed ambulances rushing to the scene and rescue workers retrieving bloodied students from the rubble.

“We have so far taken out at least 45 children from the rubble,” district emergency officer Iftikhar Khan said.

There are reports of more children being buried in the rubble, he added.

(Reuters)

The accident was reported to police at around 7.30 pm on Friday. According to the complaint, it happened between 9.30 am and 10.15 am on 8 October at a building under construction in Strovolos.

Under circumstances that are being investigated, the three men reportedly fell from a height of about nine metres while working at the site.

They were taken by ambulance to Nicosia General Hospital, where they remain in hospital.

According to their doctors, the 45-year-old is in critical but stable condition, while the 33-year-old and 49-year-old are in serious condition.

Strovolos Police Station and the Department of Labour Inspection are investigating the circumstances of the accident.