{"id":3497,"date":"2026-10-29T17:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T12:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3497"},"modified":"2026-10-29T17:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T12:03:44","slug":"spanish-rescuers-search-for-victims-as-train-crash-death-toll-rises-to-69","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3497","title":{"rendered":"Spanish rescuers search for victims as train crash death toll rises to 69"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search \u200bfor victims of Spain\u2019s second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After \u200ccranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday\u2019s crash, emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo.<\/p>\n

Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll had risen to 69 people and that human remains had been found during overnight rescue efforts. Work now involved \u200bcrane operations, particularly on a carriage that was still overturned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe there could be any more fatalities beneath that one, but I say this \u200bwith caution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Train drivers strike<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, train drivers in Spain went ahead with a previously planned strike to press for more investment \u2060in railway safety a day after Europe\u2019s deadliest train accident since a 2013 derailment in Spain\u2019s Santiago de Compostela.<\/p>\n

The crash, which followed another fatal accident in January involving the \u200bsame rail companies on the same line, has also upended campaigning for a November 29 snap election, with the leaders of Spain\u2019s two main parties suspending campaign events.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s government \u200bhas declared three days of national mourning for those killed when one high-speed train hit another.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo sent his condolences to the families of those killed, wished a speedy recovery to the injured and conveyed his support and comfort to all affected, the Vatican said, adding he had also encouraged rescue workers to continue their efforts.<\/p>\n

Of those injured, authorities said 57 remained in hospital.<\/p>\n

The crash prompted a \u200bmajor operation, which Spain\u2019s interior ministry said involved the deployment of more than 800 military and police personnel, over 200 vehicles, three helicopters, a mobile command post, drones, \u200bmounted units and search dogs.<\/p>\n

As investigations began, a judge in Toledo barred anyone not involved in emergency, security, healthcare or judicial work from the crash site with a 2-km (1.2-mile) exclusion zone in \u200cboth directions \u2060along the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Political leaders travel to crash area<\/h3>\n

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who travelled to Toledo to take part in a meeting to monitor and coordinate the emergency response, said authorities were working \u201cday and night\u201d to support the victims and their families and to \u201cget to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Alberto Nu\u00f1ez Feijoo, leader of the centre-right People\u2019s Party, which is currently leading in polls, was due to visit the town of Urda, where local people rushed to help with rescue efforts \u200bin the aftermath of the crash.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s foreign \u200bministry said 42 foreign citizens from seven \u2060countries were involved in the crash; information available so far showed that one was killed and at least seven were injured.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s accident has added urgency to a debate about safety on Spain\u2019s railways, Europe\u2019s longest network and until recently a source of pride \u200bin the country.<\/p>\n

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Wednesday the crash happened after several trains stopped automatically due to a \u200bsignal failure. A state-run \u2060Renfe train was then authorised to proceed at normal speed, even though there was a stationary Iryo-operated train ahead.<\/p>\n

SEMAF, the Spanish train drivers\u2019 union, said it did not want to speculate on the cause of the crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish to exercise caution until we have a detailed understanding of exactly what happened, so as not to engage in speculation,\u201d SEMAF said in \u2060a statement late \u200bon Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Train drivers would go ahead with the strike that had already been planned before the accident \u200bto press for structural changes in railway safety, SEMAF said, adding that it was studying further action.<\/p>\n

Renfe said the strike had caused significant disruption to rail services and passengers could change or cancel tickets free of \u200bcharge and would be notified of affected services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search \u200bfor victims of Spain\u2019s second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded. After \u200ccranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday\u2019s crash, emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo. Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll had risen to 69…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}