Overview
- Two high‑speed trains on the Madrid–Andalusia line collided near Urda on Wednesday when an Iryo train stopped and a following Renfe train ran into it, killing at least 68 people and injuring around 100.
- Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure disabled the automatic train‑protection system on a 63 km section and that the Madrid control centre then gave a train permission to proceed, a decision he called 'wrong' and now under formal inquiry.
- Emergency services, three rescue helicopters and the military emergency unit UME joined the response and hospitals issued urgent calls for blood as crews worked to reach survivors in heavily damaged carriages.
- Investigations have been opened by national authorities; whether human error or procedural failures are to blame will be determined and a control‑centre employee implicated in the clearance is being legally represented.
- The crash revives a heated national debate on rail safety after a January collision that killed 46 people and has prompted unions to press ahead with planned strikes and politicians to demand rapid reviews of signalling and fallback procedures.