Rescue teams search wreckage for survivors after train crash in Spain

What the report says

Rescue crews in Spain continued searching through wreckage on Thursday after a deadly collision between two high-speed trains in Toledo province, about 150 km south of Madrid, according to Al Jazeera. The crash involved a Renfe AVE train and an Iryo train on the line between Urda and Los Yebenes, and emergency workers were using sniffer dogs, cranes, police and soldiers to check the damaged carriages and surrounding debris for survivors or additional victims.

Al Jazeera reported that regional officials said 53 people were still in hospital, including 15 in critical care. Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for Castilla-La Mancha, said crews were moving carefully because they could not yet rule out that more people were trapped in the wreckage. Three days of mourning were declared after the accident.

The crash has renewed concern over Spain’s high-speed rail safety after another fatal incident earlier this year on the same line and involving the same rail companies. Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the trains stopped automatically after a signal failure, and that a Renfe train was later allowed to continue even though an Iryo train was stationary ahead. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the site and called for an investigation and safety improvements, while the drivers’ union urged caution and said it did not want to speculate before the facts were known.