In brief
A collision between a Renfe and an Iryo high‑speed train near Urda, Spain, killed at least 68 people and left two South Koreans wounded. Spanish officials cited a computer error and signal mishandling, while the Korean foreign ministry reported one minor case and one still hospitalized. International leaders extended condolences, and investigations are examining possible negligence and system faults.
A high‑speed train collided with a stationary carriage near Urda in Toledo province, Spain, on Wednesday night, killing at least 68 people and injuring around 80, according to Spanish authorities and several news outlets. The crash involved a Renfe AVE train traveling from Madrid to Seville and an Iryo train carried by a private operator. At least 11 South Korean passengers had been aboard the two trains as of 6:40 a.m. Thursday, the Korean foreign ministry confirmed, and two of them were reported injured.
Sixteen wounded passengers were transported to hospitals, with Spanish media indicating roughly 100 people sustained injuries overall, many severely. The Korean foreign ministry said one of the injured nationals suffered only minor injuries and was discharged after treatment, while the other remains hospitalized. The ministry stated that “our embassy in Spain is maintaining close contact with local authorities and continuing to check for any additional Korean casualties.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, speaking from Urda, declared three days of national mourning on the same day, stating: “Spain is in mourning. We will get to the bottom of this, and if there was negligence, it will be revealed, and if there were system failures, there will be a strong response.”
Sánchez added: “What is unacceptable for a country like Spain is to suffer two train accidents in the same year,” he said, noting that the causes of the current crash appeared unrelated to an earlier one in January. The Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente announced that a computer failure had initially paused six trains, including the two involved, along a 40‑mile stretch of track.
“In the event of a system failure, the control centre takes over,” Puente said. “The control centre decided to allow the Renfe train to move again without speed restrictions, despite a remaining red light.”He called the decision “inexplicable” and acknowledged that the exact cause of the collision was still under investigation.
International responses poured in from across the Middle East. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a message of condolences to King Felipe VI, wishing the Syrian people a speedy recovery for the injured. Vice Presidents Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan also sent similar messages to the Spanish monarch and the victims’ families. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a cable to King Felipe expressing “deep sympathy” and wishing a swift recovery for the injured.
A Spanish trade union, CSIF, demanded the resignation of Transport Minister Puente over his remarks, arguing that his comments “misplaced blame” on the control centre and failed to preserve the presumption of innocence for Adif’s traffic head. Protesters flanked police in Madrid demanding resignations, while the incident prompted discussions about the need for rigorous safety checks across the entire high‑speed rail network.
Investigators continue to probe why a Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo carriage, examining signalling software, driver instructions, and the role of a red light that was reportedly ignored to allow the moving train to resume. The exact cause—whether a signaling failure, an operator error, or a system malfunction—remains undetermined, and the final findings are expected to take weeks as the inquiry delves into the train control centre’s decision-making processes.
The sources acknowledge that while the immediate facts of the crash are established—at least 68 casualties, two South Korean injuries, and a collision between a Renfe and an Iryo high‑speed train—the mechanisms that led to the collision, whether technical or human, are still under discussion in official statements and in press releases from trade unions and government officials.
