MADRID: At least 68 people have died and dozens more have been injured after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain.
The crash occurred when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville struck a stationary train on the tracks, sending several carriages tumbling down an embankment.
Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer system failure followed by human error led to the disaster, making it one of the deadliest train accidents in modern European history and Spain’s worst rail disaster in 13 years.
The collision occurred shortly after 9 a.m. local time, around 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Madrid, between the municipalities of Mora and Orgaz.
According to Puente, the stationary train, operated by private rail company Iryo, was carrying 147 passengers when it stopped because of a computer failure. He said a 24-hour control centre in Madrid takes over when such failures occur but made an “inexplicable” decision to allow the trains to resume movement without imposing speed restrictions.
Iryo said its train had been struck from behind by another train operated by state-owned railway company Renfe, which was carrying 397 passengers.
Passengers described scenes of chaos and devastation following the collision. Salvador Arriza, 62, who was travelling on the Renfe-operated train, told Reuters that the impact was “brutal”. He said passengers smashed windows to escape, while others remained trapped among the seats.
One carriage caught fire, and survivors described injured passengers crying for help amid the wreckage. Some victims were reportedly buried beneath debris, while photographs showed a long section of railway track piercing through one of the carriages.
(Inputs from BBC)
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