For hours, Antonio Vázquez’s family had been told he was among the injured at Toledo University Hospital. That information proved mistaken. His death was confirmed on Thursday: he was one of 69 people killed in the collision near Urda on Wednesday 28 October. More than 200 people were reported injured, and casualty figures remained provisional during the first reporting period.
The crash involved a Renfe AVE and an Iryo train on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line. The Iryo was stopped near Urda when the AVE struck its rear at about 08:53, sending carriages off the track and down an embankment. A preliminary technical assessment put the AVE’s speed at between 160 and 200 km/h. The trains carried a reported 378 and 147 passengers respectively.
Families searched for missing passengers at hospitals and near the crash site, as described in an earlier report.
Curro Vázquez spoke to Europa Press after his brother’s death. He described the situation as difficult and tough, thanked reporters for their condolences and said losing a brother in such a complicated accident had been terrible.
He also spoke of the affection and respect Antonio had received from the bullfighting world, thanking those who had expressed their sympathy.
Investigators were examining a reported failure in the LZB train-protection system at around 08:31, about 22 minutes before the collision. Spain’s independent technical accident-investigation authority opened a formal inquiry, while the Guardia Civil separately examined whether criminal responsibility existed. Authorities said the technical investigation remained at an early stage, with all hypotheses about the causes and contributing factors open.
