The 70 complaints do not necessarily mean that 70 people remain unaccounted for. The Guardia Civil says some reports may concern victims whose remains have yet to be identified. Five people listed in missing-person reports were later found alive, according to reports on the recovery operation.
The collision between a Renfe train and an Iryo train near Urda, Toledo, on Wednesday 28 October left 69 people dead and hundreds injured. Both trains were travelling towards Seville on the Madrid to Seville high-speed route. EFE reported that the Iryo train was stationary when the Renfe AVE struck it; two Iryo carriages derailed and fell down an embankment. Rail traffic on the affected line was suspended after the crash.
Renfe records cited by EFE listed 378 passengers on the AVE. Early reports put the number aboard the Iryo at 147 passengers, or 174 people including a baby. During the emergency response, the reported death toll rose from 30 to 64 and then 68; subsequent reporting put the provisional total at 69. By 30 October, forensic teams had carried out 65 autopsies. A later update said all 69 autopsies had been completed and 36 victims identified.
EFE reported a preliminary account pointing to an Adif control-centre decision to let the Renfe train resume moving while the Iryo remained stopped on the same track. The cause remains under official investigation.
The complaints were filed in Toledo (38), Madrid (23), Seville (seven), Ciudad Real (one) and Logroño (one). Investigation sources told Efe they had counted 62 missing people. Authorities were reconciling the complaints with passenger records and hospital admissions, alongside victim identifications.
Families have been trying to establish the whereabouts of passengers from both trains. RUSSPAIN has separately covered psychological care after the crash; the accounts below identify some of those being sought.
Carlos Ortiz Sanchidrián, director of CEU San Pablo Sanchinarro school, was travelling in carriage 1 of the Iryo train. Javier Tello, another member of the CEU community who was with him, was in hospital. Carmen Chicharro Sanz, 52, was travelling in seat 6A or 6B of carriage 7 on the AVE with a work colleague.
Several missing passengers were travelling to or from Andalusia. David Martínez Méndez, 25, was heading from Madrid to Seville for work on the morning of 28 October; his family placed him in seat 16A of carriage 7. Ana Avilés Urueña, 70, was travelling to Seville for her daughter Ana’s wedding. Her relatives and friends searched hospitals and care centres, then went to the crash site, but had no information about her whereabouts.
Fernando de Jesús Calvillo, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen living in the United States, had come to Spain on holiday with relatives. He boarded the AVE with a family member on Wednesday and had not been located, according to reports. José Ángel San Emeterio, a 54-year-old Sevillian travelling from Madrid to Seville with his dog Trece, was also being sought; the dog was found during the first hours of the search.
David Benítez, 38, was in carriage 8 of the Renfe train. ABC Sevilla reported that his medical history had been recorded in Castilla-La Mancha primary care, the only lead his relatives had received. David Reina Reguera, 22, was also in carriage 8 and was travelling to Andalusia for a few days’ rest. His last contact with his family was at 8.30am on the day of the collision. Mari Carmen García, 26, who lives and works in Madrid, was travelling between carriages 7 and 8.
Alexandra García Bartolomé, 40, from Ávila, was in carriage 7 of the AVE. Her sister Lucía said on social media that she had been wearing denim trousers and a denim shirt with black metal-toe boots; the family asked anyone with information to contact the Guardia Civil. Tamara González Costa, a 31-year-old biomedical researcher, was in seat 12B of carriage 8 on the Renfe train. The public research body CNIC joined her family and friends in seeking information.
Among the other passengers reported missing were María Luisa Manchado, known as Marisa Manchado, a classical music composer and 2024 National Music Prize winner, and Iván Romano, a 42-year-old National Police officer from Alcalá de Guadaíra who had recently become a father. The association Mujeres en la Música and the Unified Police Union expressed support for their families and called for information. Juan José García Palacios, a 25-year-old Civil Guard officer stationed in Madrid, was travelling towards his home in Utrera; his family did not know which carriage he was in. Carmen de Santa Ana, a 60-year-old Viajes El Corte Inglés worker from San Roque, was also aboard one of the trains.
Residents of Urda, a municipality of about 2,500 people, helped survivors while emergency services searched the wreckage and treated the injured. Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page expressed his condolences to the families and others affected.
