At least 68 killed in Spanish high-speed train crash, as prime minister says 'whole country is grieving'
Summary
At least 68 people have been killed after a Spanish high-speed train collided with another train south of the capital Madrid
The updated death toll makes this crash the country's worst rail disaster since 2013
Spain's transport minister says an "inexplicable" decision by the control centre led to the collision after a computer failure initially caused trains to halt
The rail operator Iryo says its train was "struck from behind" by a Renfe train. More than 500 passengers were travelling on the two trains
Speaking at the crash site, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says Spain is "grieving" - most major parties have suspended general election campaigning
Witnesses have described "terrible" scenes, while Roberto Gómez, a Spanish journalist travelling on one of the trains, says it was "extremely chaotic and very distressing"
What we know so far about the cause of this crash
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez says the government is working "to clarify what happened, why this tragedy occurred". Here's what we know so far:
- A Spanish high-speed train collided with another train south of the capital Madrid, seemingly while one was stationary
- Transport Minister Óscar Puente says a computer failure led to the initial halting of six moving trains, including the two trains that subsequently collided
- "In the event of a system failure, the control centre takes over," Puente says
- However, for "inexplicable" reasons, the control centre decided to allow the high-speed train to move again, without any speed restrictions, before it hit the second train
- Sánchez references a deadly rail crash that killed 46 on the same line earlier this year, and says: "At the moment it looks like the causes behind both crashes have nothing in common"
- An investigation is under way
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