Death toll in Spain rail crash rises to 68

Updated death toll

The total number of people killed in the collision between two high-speed trains in Spain has risen to 68. Spanish media reported this. Among the victims was 59-year-old Fatima Baños, who served as the country's minister of labour and social security from 2011 to 2018.

Emiliano García-Page, the head of the Castilla-La Mancha region, announced the increase in the number of fatalities. Witnesses to the tragedy describe harrowing scenes at the site of the collision. Jose Manuel Pastrana, a priest who arrived shortly after the incident, stated that despite their injuries, the victims attempted to help others.

Circumstances of the former minister's presence

According to media reports, Fatima Baños was travelling to Seville, where she was scheduled to attend a business conference. She also headed the CEOE Foundation, which is linked to Spain's largest employers' organisation.

Theories on the cause of the accident

Preliminary data suggests that the disaster may have been caused by a malfunction in the automatic safety system. Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that high-speed train services have been temporarily suspended and subsequently switched to manual control.

One theory suggests that the Iryo train stopped on the tracks approximately 25 kilometres from the Renfe train. Despite this, a dispatcher at the Adif railway network control centre authorised the Renfe train to continue moving in normal mode. As a result, the moving train collided with the stationary one at high speed.

The motives behind the dispatcher's decision remain unknown. Oscar Puente described the situation as "incomprehensible". The establishment of the exact causes of the disaster is ongoing.