Spain train crash: 4 Americans among 69 people killed, officials say

Crash in Toledo province

The crash happened on the morning of Oct. 28 in Urda, in Spain’s Toledo province. A high-speed train hit the rear of another train that had stopped, and two cars derailed.

Officials said 58 people were injured. At least 69 people died, including four United States citizens. The center had previously reported the deaths of 54 Spaniards and one French and one Portuguese citizen. It said all but three victims had been identified.

Investigators examine train speed

Transport Minister Óscar Puente attributed much of what went wrong to a traffic controller’s poor judgment. Railway unions disputed that account, pointing instead to worsening working conditions and staffing concerns.

Unions cite staffing pressures

The unions said too few traffic controllers were managing growing workloads. In their view, this made it increasingly difficult to protect the millions of passengers using Spain’s railways.

Spain’s high-speed rail network is the world’s second-largest, after China’s, and has long been seen as a success of state industrial policy. Before this year, it had recorded no fatal crashes since service began more than three decades ago.