Forensic teams have completed all 69 autopsies after the collision near Urda, in Toledo, but only 56 victims had been identified in the latest update. The crash killed 69 people and left dozens injured. It happened on 28 October on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, about 130-140 kilometres south of Madrid, when a Renfe-operated AVE struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train. Both trains partially derailed into nearby olive groves.
The PP will join the judicial case to seek a full investigation and establish any appropriate responsibility, Alma Ezcurra, the party’s deputy secretary for institutional regeneration, announced on Sunday, 1 November. Vox leader Santiago Abascal said his party would appear as a popular prosecution, calling for the evidence to be protected and the full truth to be established. Spain’s railway-accident investigation authority, AITAT, opened a technical investigation registered as file 146/2026. Its case record lists the collision at 08:53 at kilometre 118 between Mora and Urda, involving Renfe Viajeros train 2080 and Iryo train 6076.
The dispute over the Transport Minister’s position follows earlier reporting on Sánchez’s response. Óscar Puente has ruled out resigning and said he had placed his position at the disposal of the prime minister. He is due to appear before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies on Tuesday 3 November. The PP and Vox have called for a full investigation and for those responsible to be identified.
The cause of the collision remains unknown. The sequence began when an automatic control system covering 69 kilometres of track failed, bringing trains in the affected section to a stop. The Renfe train was later authorised to continue and travelled about 25 kilometres before the collision, around 23 minutes after the initial system failure, according to a reconstruction. Initial inquiries point to possible human error and are examining the decision to resume traffic, along with communications and control-centre procedures. Abascal has criticised attempts to blame a railway worker for technical failures. The Civil Guard has asked close relatives of missing people to provide DNA samples to help identify them. In the early identification effort, it listed 64 people as missing; teams have used fingerprints and DNA, along with sniffer dogs and thermal drones. Twenty-seven officers from its Criminalistics and Judicial Police services are involved.
RTVE reported that 41 people remained in hospital in the latest figures, with 16 in intensive care. Ten patients were in hospitals in Madrid, including three in intensive care. Castilla-La Mancha had 31 people admitted, 13 of them in intensive care.
Renfe has said neither the Urda collision nor the earlier accident in Adamuz is attributable to the operator. In a statement, it said responsibility for maintaining, conserving and managing railway infrastructure lies outside its remit; Renfe operates passenger and freight services. The company also said claims linking the incidents to alleged shortcomings in rolling-stock safety or its work organisation made no sense. The judicial and technical investigations will determine how responsibility is allocated.
The operator is preparing a working document on possible rail-safety measures, but RTVE reported that it has not been approved and is not final. El País and Cadena SER reported that one measure under consideration would tell drivers not to exceed 40 kilometres per hour if the LZB safety system fails. Renfe had also suspended ticket sales until December, while high-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia remained interrupted in the latest update.
