Shocking images of a section of railway track piercing through a carriage of a Renfe AVE high-speed train have emerged after a collision between two trains killed at least 68 people in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday, October 28.
It was the second major accident on Spain’s rail network this year and the deadliest train crash in more than a decade. The crash occurred around 60 miles south of Madrid. A train operated by private rail consortium Iryo had stopped near Toledo on the instructions of Spain’s rail infrastructure manager, Adif, because of a signal fault, the Associated Press (AP) reported, according to a person briefed on the incident.
Madrid City Council deployed around 100 personnel to assist with the emergency response, according to local media reports. The deployment included seven fire service vehicles, 16 ambulances and specialist rescue teams. “The Renfe train continued on its way as instructed, and a collision occurred. The exact sequence of events leading to the collision remains to be established by the investigation. The suspension disrupted rail connections between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia as emergency teams worked at the crash site. Two psychologists from Madrid’s emergency service, SAMUR-PC, were also providing support at a crisis room at Atocha railway station.
The exact sequence of events, the traffic conditions and the circumstances of the impact will have to be established by the investigation,” the company said in a statement. Manuel Galán, mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told Spanish state broadcaster TVE that several passengers had been injured. He said civil protection authorities had asked the town council to prepare a sports pavilion to accommodate passengers affected by the accident.
