68 Dead in Spain's Second High-Speed Rail Crash This Year

A collision between two high-speed trains in central Spain killed 68 people on Wednesday.

The impact occurred on a stretch of track near the town of Urda in the province of Toledo.

It is the second fatal rail disaster in the country this year, following an accident in January that claimed 46 lives.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente stated that a computer malfunction caused the safety system to fail on a 63 kilometer section of line.

The failure forced all trains on that segment to stop at 8:30 a.m.

At that time, an IRYO train was stationary near Urda, and a RENFE train was 25 kilometers behind it.

Central command instructed the RENFE engineer to resume travel without speed restrictions a few minutes later.

Puente said the order was incorrect because a stop signal remained active on the line.

The RENFE train struck the stationary IRYO service at 8:53 a.m.

Puente described the command order as inexplicable and stated that the train engineers were not at fault.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the crash site after regional officials confirmed the death toll exceeded 60.

Sanchez pledged an investigation and improvements to the network, which carried 45 million travelers last year.', "It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year," Sanchez said.', "The government declared three days of national mourning beginning Thursday.', "Both incidents this year involved state-owned RENFE and private operator IRYO.', "Spain opened its high-speed rail network more than 30 years ago, and it had no fatal crashes until this year.', "The network is the second largest in the world by track mileage, behind only China.', "The crash happened four weeks before Spain holds a national election.', "Polls show Sanchez faces an uphill battle against the Popular Party.', "Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo canceled campaign events for the day.', "He said his party would respect the victims while demanding answers to public questions about safety.', "Far-right leader Santiago Abascal of Vox called the government a criminal organization hours after the crash.', "Abascal said he would work tirelessly to see the government answer for its actions in court.', "Emergency workers, firefighters, police, and soldiers used cranes to clear the wreckage late Wednesday.', "Sanchez had posted a message of optimism on social media about an hour before news of the crash spread.