Leaked audio recordings published in Spanish media have revealed exchanges between train drivers and the control centre in Madrid in the minutes before a high-speed train ran into the back of a stationary train near Urda on Wednesday morning, killing at least 68 people.1,2,3,6
The moving train, run by the state-owned operator Renfe, was traveling from Madrid to Seville with 397 people on board when it hit the rear of a stalled train run by the private operator Iryo, which was carrying 147 people. About 80 people were injured. The reports differ on the death toll: the BBC put the figure at 69 and CBS put it at at least 69, while other outlets put it at at least 68, and officials said the investigation into the cause was continuing.1,2,3,4,6
Three audio recordings between Madrid's control centre and two drivers appear to show that the Renfe train was given clearance to move even though the Iryo train had stalled on the same track about 25km (15 miles) ahead. A reported failure of the automatic signalling system had forced trains on the stretch to halt, and Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the Renfe train was later ordered to proceed in "error" and called the decision to allow it to restart "inexplicable."1,2,4,6
In one recording, a control centre operator speaks with the driver of the Renfe train, which was having technical difficulties. After some exchanges, the operator says, "Continue your journey and then proceed under [Lateral Signalling Block], at normal speed with normal operation." The driver replies, "At normal speed?" The controller answers, "Yes." The Lateral Signalling Block is a backup system used when the automatic signalling or data transmission system fails.1
In another recording, the driver of the stationary Iryo train says that communication with the train-control system has been lost and it is not moving. The train "is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda," the driver tells the control centre operator, and after a series of exchanges is told to "resume the journey" normally. In a later recording, the Iryo driver contacts the control centre again, saying they cannot start the train.1
A timeline published by the BBC said the Iryo train, identified as Iryo 6076, left Madrid Atocha at 07:54, followed by the Renfe train, identified as AVE 2080, at 08:00. At 08:33 a system failure stopped trains on the same track, the AVE train then received clearance to proceed while the Iryo train remained stationary, and at 08:53 the AVE train struck the rear of the Iryo train. The Daily Wire said the control system failure in Urda caused six trains to stop. Al Jazeera said the trains collided on a raised section of track between Urda and the neighbouring town of Los Yebenes, near Toledo, just before 9 a.m. (08:00 GMT), and the Daily Wire put the time at shortly before 9:15 a.m.1,2,6
Two of the Iryo train's carriages derailed and fell down the embankment during the collision, regional officials and emergency sources quoted by El Pais said. Survivors described people crying and bleeding, passengers trapped in their seats, smoke through the carriages, and one carriage that caught fire. Other witnesses described people being thrown into the air at the moment of impact.1,2,6
A 62-year-old man who was on the train said, "After the first hit I was disoriented, but the worst thing was that the train then kept moving for quite some time from the inertia and that's when I thought something would happen to me." He added, "It was chaotic. I was close to the doors that were somehow opened, but many people were breaking the windows to escape," and said, "There were some who couldn't move because they were trapped under seats. Some were injured, a few seriously so, but not like what I imagine the front part of the train must have been like." Juan Quesada, 65, who was traveling on the Renfe train to Seville for work and suffered a head injury, told El Pais, "A tremendous impact and so much noise, and everyone was coming at you." A local who contributed to supplying the makeshift medical centre told El Pais the scene was "like a horror movie."2,6
Emergency crews continued to clear the wreckage and search for victims trapped under the rubble, and 52 bodies had been recovered, Al Jazeera said. Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, said about 80 people were injured, 50 of them seriously and 15 critically. The most seriously injured were taken to hospitals in the region and in Madrid, while others were assessed at a sports hall near the crash site, where emergency teams sorted them by severity before sending them home or to hospital. Spain's Civil Guard sent a disaster investigation team to the site to collect evidence.6
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the site on Wednesday and declared three days of national mourning starting Thursday. He said authorities will "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy" and pledged that any negligence would come to light and any system failures would be met with a strong response. He also said, "Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families." On Thursday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited some of the injured passengers at a hospital in Toledo, and the king expressed condolences to the victims' relatives and said the investigation would determine why the crash happened and what measures would be taken for this not to happen again.1,2,6
The crash is Spain's second deadly high-speed rail disaster in less than a year. The Daily Wire said 45 people were killed in another high-speed train collision in January. Al Jazeera said the toll is the highest in a European rail accident since a 2013 derailment in Santiago de Compostela killed 80 people, and the BBC described it as one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history and Spain's worst crash since 2013. The Daily Wire said that before 2026 Spain had one of the lowest train fatality rates in the European Union and that more than 90% of its rail network has the highest level of safety control systems available, according to the European railway agency.1,2,6
The disaster comes weeks before national elections, with the Daily Wire saying Sanchez is up for re-election on November 29. Santiago Abascal, a political opponent, said, "Tragedy again. Rage again over the neglect, the ruin, and the betrayal suffered by the Spanish people." Officials have blamed what Puente called an "inexplicable" order from the rail control centre. Sanchez said the authorities would establish the full details.1,2,3,6
