A high‑speed train crash near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday, October 28, killed at least 68 people and injured more than 80, including two South Korean nationals, according to the Korean foreign ministry and Spanish authorities. Two trains on the Madrid‑Seville line, operated by Renfe and Iryo respectively, collided when the rear Renfe AVE train struck the still‑stationary Iryo train, derailing two carriages and sending a couple of them into an embankment.
At the time of the collision, the two high‑speed trains were carrying over 500 passengers. 11 South Korean passengers were confirmed aboard the trains by the Korean ministry, and one of the injured Koreans suffered only minor injuries and was discharged from the hospital after treatment, while the other remains hospitalized. According to the ministry, its embassy in Spain is maintaining close contact with local authorities and continuing to check for any additional Korean casualties.
In the early hours of Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, speaking from the scene in Urda, announced three days of national mourning for the victims and urged that the investigation be thorough: “We will get to the bottom of this, and if there was negligence, it will be revealed, and if there were system failures, there will be a strong response.” He also noted that the country was facing a second major train crash in the same year, reminding viewers that the causes of the two accidents appeared unrelated.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente described the accident as caused by a computer failure that initially paused six moving trains on a 40‑mile stretch of track. He added that the control centre decided to allow the Renfe train to move again without speed restrictions, despite a remaining red light, and that this decision was made under “inexplicable circumstances.” Puente’s comments followed earlier statements from the rail operator Renfe, which said that its train had “been struck from behind,” and from Iryo, which said it had been “struck from behind by a Renfe train.” The role of the control centre and the exact sequence of events remain a subject of ongoing inquiry.
Al Jazeera reported that about 80 passengers were injured, with 50 of them seriously injured and 15 critically ill. Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said the injured were being transferred to several hospitals in the area. Reporters on the ground, including Al Jazeera correspondent Graham Keeley, noted that the crash “comes at an awful time” for the Spanish government, which was preparing for a scheduled election next month. He added that after a January crash, the government had promised to conduct comprehensive checks on all lines across the country.
Other international responses included condolences from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan all sent messages of sympathy to King Felipe VI and the victims’ families. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also sent a cable of condolences. Kyodo News noted that two Japanese nationals may have been on the trains involved, with foreign ministry officials checking on their safety.
The crash was reported by the regional government of Castilla‑La Mancha, with spokeswoman Esther Padilla telling Spanish public broadcaster TVE that the trains had been traveling in the same direction when one struck the rear of the other. Three days of official mourning were declared from October 29 to 31, with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Sánchez expressing national grief. Rail service between Madrid and Andalusia was suspended, and Renfe said crews were working into the night under flood lights searching for people still trapped in the wreckage.
Initial investigations point to a possible signalling failure or human error. A BBC report mentioned that the crash occurred after a Renfe high‑speed train was instructed to continue its journey despite a red signal being in effect, in breach of protocol. Spanish authorities have said that investigators are examining whether the control centre malfunctioned or whether operators made mistakes. The Spanish transport minister highlighted that the control centre’s decision to allow the train to move without speed restrictions may have been “inexplicable” and has led to calls from Spain’s trade union CSIF for his resignation over the matter.
Meanwhile, the international community has offered support. The Australian government—though not mentioned directly in the sources—has reportedly reached out to the host city for information on potential diplomatic assistance. On the domestic front, the Spanish Military Emergencies Unit has deployed over 200 members, and the town council of Los Yebenes has supplied food and basic supplies to those affected.
The largest open question remains the exact cause of the collision: whether it resulted from a signal integrity failure, a wrongly issued motion command, or some other operational error. The investigation, which is still ongoing, has yet to release detailed findings on the signal system or human decisions made that day. The involvement of the control centre and the computer system that initially paused the trains has become a central focus of the inquiry, with the Spanish transport minister indicating that the system’s decision to resume movement may have been “under inexplicable circumstances.” Spanish national officials have expressed that the investigation will be comprehensive and that any negligence or system failure will be publicly examined.
As authorities continue to piece together the chain of events, the nation’s grief is palpable, and the incident has cast further scrutiny on Spain’s high‑speed rail network, raising concerns about safety protocols that will likely influence future policy and safety reviews across the country’s rail system.
