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Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll from the high-speed rail collision had risen to 69 after a body was found overnight with 50 people still hospitalised including some in critical condition. The Castilla-La Mancha president told reporters the crash had produced a state of shock across Spain as rescuers used cranes to search mangled carriages particularly one that remained overturned. A Reuters report placed the incident as Europe’s deadliest train accident since the 2013 Santiago de Compostela derailment that killed 80 people.
The collision happened when the Renfe AVE travelling from Madrid to Seville at speeds reaching 200 kilometres per hour struck the rear of the Iryo train that had halted on the same line a government graphic released via Reuters showed. Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that a computer failure disabled the LZB signalling system at 8:30am causing six trains to stop automatically before controllers authorised the Renfe service to proceed even though the Iryo remained stationary ahead. Puente described the decision as utterly implausible and inexplicable according to details published by Reuters.
Spain’s employers association confirmed that Fatima Banez who served as labour and social security minister from 2011 to 2018 and later chaired its social and corporate responsibility arm was among those killed while travelling on the Iryo train. The foreign ministry reported that 42 citizens from seven countries were involved in the crash with one killed and at least seven injured a Reuters dispatch said. Garcia-Page added that human remains had been recovered during the ongoing rescue efforts that involved more than 500 emergency personnel.
The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation announced that 24-year-old long jumper Julieta Gallego of the Madrid-based AD Sprint club had died in the accident that occurred in Urda Toledo. The federation said in a statement The Spanish athletics family joins in the grief over the passing of Julieta Gallego athlete of AD Sprint in the train accident that occurred in Urda Toledo offering its support to her family friends and club teammates. Federation president Raul Chapado told Spanish newspaper ABC There are blows that strike at the very heart of the athletics family. Today the sport mourns the passing of Julieta a life ahead of her that has been unjustly extinguished.
This marked the second fatal high-speed rail disaster on the Madrid-Andalusia corridor in 2026 after a January crash near Adamuz killed 46 people according to an AP News summary of the incidents. Unions have blamed lack of funding for safety upgrades on the network while the government has insisted on a full investigation into the latest collision. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared three days of national mourning beginning October 29 and said Spain was in mourning as the country headed toward national elections.
Survivors described passengers being thrown through carriages with some sustaining severe head injuries or losing limbs as one eyewitness recounted in reports carried by multiple outlets. A Castilla-La Mancha government spokesperson confirmed 147 people were aboard the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe service when the impact derailed carriages and sent wreckage down an embankment. Families have submitted more than 60 missing persons reports to the Civil Guard which is coordinating DNA samples to identify remaining victims the regional administration reported.
