The search for victims of the train accident in Spain continues

After a train accident in Spain, the search for more victims - and why As of: October 29, 2026 • 12:22 p.m

In Spain, rescue workers are looking for more victims in the wagon rubble after the serious train accident. The government promised clarification, and there were protests in Madrid. Human error could have played a role as the cause of the accident.

After the devastating train accident in Spain, rescue work continues. With the help of three large cranes, rescue teams were on duty throughout the night to search for possible additional victims in the destroyed wagons, reported the Spanish broadcaster RTVE. In addition to drones with thermal imaging sensors, search dogs are also used.

At least 69 people died and dozens were injured in the accident on Wednesday morning in Toledo province when two high-speed trains collided near the municipality of Urda. A train operated by the state-owned company Renfe ran into a stationary train operated by the private railway company Iryo from behind. In total there were more than 540 passengers on the two trains. The rescuers do not rule out the possibility that there are other victims in the wagon wreckage.

Fear after train accident in Spain: Travelers doubt safety Kristina Böker, ARD Madrid, tagesschau, Das Erste, October 29, 2026 • 3:00 p.m. Many people were still looking for missing family members that night. To make it easier to identify victims, relatives can provide DNA samples in the capital, Madrid, as well as in the cities of Toledo, Córdoba and Seville. Blood donation centers have also been set up in Castile-La Mancha and Madrid.

In Spain there is deep shock over the second serious train accident on the high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia. more

On Wednesday evening, people remembered the victims with a minute's silence in front of numerous town halls across Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also declared three days of national mourning until Saturday - and promised comprehensive information. "We will investigate the matter to the end. If there was negligence, it will come to light," he assured journalists at the scene of the accident.

“It is unacceptable for a country like Spain to experience two serious high-speed train accidents within a year,” said Sánchez, referring to the Adamuz train accident in Andalusia, in which 46 people died in January. If errors in the security system turn out, we will react with all possible consequences.

According to Transport Minister Puente, the affected route was recently modernized. more

Sánchez is also under pressure because he is being blamed for the accident by the conservative and right-wing populist opposition a month before the early parliamentary elections. "Corruption kills" and the left-wing government is criminal, said the head of the right-wing populist party Vox, Santiago Abascal.

In the evening, ultra-right groups called for a rally in front of the Ministry of Transport in Madrid. Tensions arose between parts of the approximately 1,500 demonstrators and the police, as the television station TVE reported. Officers eventually used tear gas to break up the demonstration. The protests were directed against Sánchez's government and Transport Minister Óscar Puente, who the rally participants see as responsible for the train accident.

A technical defect led to the disaster. And apparently also a misjudgment. more

The cause of the current accident has not yet been conclusively clarified. However, Puente hinted at possible human error. The accident was due to an “inexplicable” and “wrong” decision by the railway control center. Although the automatic train protection system was not yet working again after a computer failure, the control center gave the Renfe train the green light to continue moving while the Iryo train was still stationary. However, the investigation must clarify whether there was actually human error, said the transport minister.

Why the responsible dispatcher did not recognize the danger in time is one of the central open questions. There were around 25 kilometers between the two trains, which the Renfe train covered in around 17 minutes. Officials from the police and the Independent Accident Investigation Authority (AITAT) have already questioned the employee. Meanwhile, AITAT believes it is “much too early” to formulate hypotheses about the causes of the collision.

Criticism of the condition of the railway network came from the Spanish railway union, among others. The train drivers' union Semaf is sticking to its strike announced for today to demand improvements in safety. The strike had already been announced on October 16th, before the accident.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | Spain: Update on the train accident early Thursday morning | Oct 29, 2026 | 06:04 amThe First | daily topics | Oct 28, 2026 | 9:30 p.m