In brief
A high‑speed train in Spain’s Toledo province crashed into a stationary carriage near Urda, killing at least 68 people and injuring around 80. Two South Korean nationals sustained injuries, one minor and the other hospitalized. Spanish authorities are investigating a computer error that may have allowed the moving train to ignore a red signal.
A high‑speed train collided with a stationary carriage near Urda in Toledo province, central Spain, on Wednesday night, killing at least 68 people and injuring roughly 80, according to reports from Spanish media and the Korean foreign ministry.
The crash involved an AVE train operated by Renfe traveling from Madrid to Seville and an Iryo high‑speed carriage that had already stopped. Spanish officials said the stray train struck the rear of the stationary one, derailing two carriages that fell onto an embankment.
Two South Korean nationals were among the injured. The Korean foreign ministry confirmed that 11 Korean passengers were on the trains and that one of the injured passengers suffered only minor injuries, while the other remains hospitalized.
Spanish transport minister Oscar Puente said the crash was triggered by a computer failure at the rail control centre.
"The control centre allowed the Renfe train to depart without speed restrictions despite a red signal," Puente told reporters.
The incident prompted the government to suspend rail services between Madrid and Seville and to declare three days of national mourning.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke from the crash site, saying:
"Spain is in mourning. 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 added that the causes of this October crash were unrelated to the January incident.
The incident has drawn condolences from international leaders. The UAE and Saudi Arabian governments sent messages of sympathy to King Felipe VI and the Spanish public, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.
Kyodo News reported that two Japanese nationals may have been aboard the trains, but that claim remains unconfirmed.
