Spain's Second Deadly Rail Crash in 2026 Kills 69
Families searched for missing relatives Thursday after a collision near Toledo, joining a national mourning period following the January disaster.
By Olivia Barnes ·
At least 69 people died when two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday. The accident marked the second fatal rail disaster in the country this year.
Authorities reported that 180 passengers were injured. Of those, 110 required hospitalization. The crash occurred on the tracks near Toledo, where a RENFE train struck an Iryo train that had stopped on the line.
César Vicente, an actor from Seville, traveled 495 kilometers to the area to find his father. He spent the night at a religious center that served as a base for families. His father had been seated in 13A on the RENFE car.
Vicente described the search as unbearable. "This is hell," he said. His mother and aunt joined him in looking for information. They walked the grounds in the cold morning air.
Relatives used social media to locate missing passengers. Alejandra Marroquín posted that her sister Adriana was in car 8 of the RENFE train. Marroquín noted that Adriana wore dark blue clothes. "We're still praying, we don't know anything," Marroquín wrote on Thursday morning. Search teams with sniffer dogs continued their work.
In January, 46 people died when a train derailed and hit another in southern Spain. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited injured patients at Toledo University Hospital for more than an hour. The king called the event a devastating blow to society.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters that the government was working to strengthen security. He said the aim was to ensure the tragedy does not happen again. The high-speed network is the second largest in the world, behind China. It had not had a deadly crash in over 30 years until this year.
Residents of Urda, a town of 2,500 people, helped immediately. David Gómez, a construction worker, said his group cut through fences to reach the site. They used first-aid kits until emergency services arrived. The region's president, Emiliano García-Page, thanked 1,300 emergency personnel. He also cited an all-time record number of blood donations from more than 2,000 volunteers.
Source: The San Bernardino Sun
