The death toll from a crash between two trains near Toledo in Spain is 68, with more than 100 people injured, according to figures released on Thursday, 29 October.
On Wednesday, 28 October, the Castilla-La Mancha regional government reported at least 30 dead and warned that the number could rise.
How it all started: Two high-speed trains collide in Spain, at least 30 dead
A Renfe AVE high-speed train hit an Iryo train that had stopped on the line at 8.53am. Both trains were heading for Seville, and the Iryo train had left Madrid at 7.54am. The AVE was travelling at up to 200km/h when it hit, and three of its carriages overturned.
Early information suggests the LZB computer train control system failed, and automatic protection did not work on a 69km stretch. The control centre of the operator Adif switched to manual control of traffic. A red danger signal was lit where the Iryo train was standing, but the AVE had been given permission to go on.
A passenger in carriage 3 of the AVE said he was working on a laptop, with the sun in his face, when the train stopped. An announcement said the line was busy, and after 5 minutes the train set off again.
Shortly before the crash, the train braked hard, with full force. The man said it felt like being a driver who sees there is no way to avoid a collision. He did not feel the impact itself. He saw luggage flying and smelled smoke, and his nose was black with soot. He showed the tissue he had wiped it with. His biggest worry is a colleague in another carriage, who has still not been found.
Another passenger said he heard a huge noise from the opposite direction and was hit on the head. He saw a boy with a torn-off arm walking between the wrecked carriages. After he got out, he also saw bodies in white bags.
A 46-year-old man from Seville, who was in carriage 7 of the Iryo train, described chaos after the collision, with bodies everywhere, as if a bomb had gone off.
A 17-year-old girl in carriage 5 of the Iryo train said people at first did not understand what was happening. They left their suitcases and ran, afraid another train would hit them. Half the train was overturned, and a fire broke out in one of the carriages. In the flames and thick smoke, she said, she saw people trapped under sheets of metal.
Rescuers describe the scenes at the site as shocking. Crews are fighting to save the lives of the injured, who are getting emergency care.
Hundreds of people are looking for their relatives at first aid points in villages around Toledo, including Urda.
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