Spain high-speed train crash kills 68, injures over 100

In Spain, an investigation is underway into how two trains came to collide. This happened south of Madrid, 68 people at least have been killed, 100 are injured, five critically. It's emerged that human error could have been behind the tragedy, a controller apparently admitting signalling for a train to proceed, even though there was another train on the same track. Let's hear for now from Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister, but first, Oscar Puente, Spain's Transport Minister. There was a red sign, a traffic light that should have signaled the train to stop. The train had received the instruction at 8.36 to continue on its way. And after 10 to 15 minutes, it crashed into the other train, stopped on its tracks near the station. With the consequences we all now know, if there were failures, we will find them. If there have been problems in the security system, we will bring a response to them. If we find that we need to strengthen the security system to rebuild the trust in our high-speed network, we will do that. It is not possible for Spain to suffer two high-casualty events in just in the space of one year. All necessary measures will be taken. Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain. Before that, we heard from Spain's Transport Minister, Oscar Puente. Let's now go to the scene of the crash Sarah Morris is our correspondent in Spain She joins us live from there Sarah, give us the latest on the situation and the casualties Well, we think that as many as 68 are dead and as many as that are still very seriously injured or fighting for their lives We know that behind me here in this small town in Toledo province There is a school set up and a lot of the family members who know that they had a relative on board one of those two trains have been gathering there. There are psychologists there because some of those people have likely been receiving very poor news and they want to know what has happened to their relatives. We understand, Mark, that all the injured have been taken out of those mangled carriages at the accident site. But the focus is now on two out of three of those area, that is the Italian operator, on that train. those wagons are badly mangled and the investigators suspect that there may be more bodies underneath those carriages. So that death toll of 68 people could likely rise. It has been a devastating day and the night will be very difficult for those rescue workers, including firefighters. I saw earlier arriving with heavy machinery to lift the wagons to try to get those corpses out and to tell their families exactly what has happened to them, Mark. Indeed, that is the big question, isn't it? How was this able to happen in a place like Spain with a modern rail network? And this, of course, is the second fatal tragedy in the same year in Spain, which is something that Prime Minister Sánchez was talking about a little bit earlier. Tell us about the investigation, Sarah. And clearly there was the operation to try to recover anything at the site. But alongside that, of course, the investigation into what happened. One of the focuses, Mark, is on a Atocha station in Madrid where one of the trains set off towards Seville. And the focus is there because it is suspected that a controller there gave the green light for that Renfe train to continue on its way, despite there being a stationary train ahead on the tracks. and the focus is on that work has already been taken aside for questioning and more workers will be questioned at that control centre. The conclusions are still early and they will focus on signalling systems. Was the signalling system an outdated one? Should it have been updated? And was there a component of human error which overrode and allowed trains to move on despite that stationary train? Of course, it had such devastating consequences, Mark, because the heavy train from Atocha station was traveling towards Seville. And at that point, here near Toledo was going at 200 kilometers per hour, which, of course, caused an incredible impact, pushing two or three wagons off an embankment and causing such tragic human consequences. consequences as you say the second in nine months and on the same line where the first one left 46 people dead in January and dozens and dozens and dozens injured Sarah Morris thank you very much for that update I know we can count on you for further news from the scene as it happens Sarah Morris our correspondent in Madrid at the scene of this crash in Toledo The same line, she says, when nine months ago there was a similar incident resulting in 46 deaths that time. So far, the death toll is 68 have lost their lives. Many are still fighting for their lives at the hospital where we just saw Sarah. We'll bring you more, of course, as we get it.