Spain Counts 69 Dead, Rescue Crews Cut Wreckage Near Toledo After High-Speed Collision

Urda, Spain— Rescuers picked through mangled carriages Thursday morning as the death toll from Spain's high-speed rail collision rose to 69. Regional officials said hopes of finding more survivors had faded overnight.

The crash happened shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday near the towns of Urda, Mora and Orgaz in Toledo province, about an hour south of Madrid. A Renfe service traveling toward Andalusia slammed into the rear of a stationary Iryo high-speed train that was stopped on the same track. Both trains were carrying around 400 passengers combined.

Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said overnight crews found additional human remains as they cut into the wreckage. The work had shifted by Thursday from search to heavy recovery, with cranes brought in to lift twisted steel and overturned cars off the single-track access road.

Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente told reporters in Madrid that the Renfe train had been authorized to proceed despite a red signal. The signal was triggered by a computer communications failure that automatically stopped traffic. Puente said an erroneous decision was then taken to restart the Renfe train.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said all of Spain was in mourning. He visited the emergency coordination center late Wednesday and spoke briefly with families. Red Cross teams described a chaotic first hour, with ambulances struggling to reach the remote site and injured passengers walking out along the ballast.

Survivors recounted seats ripped from the floor and luggage thrown the length of the cars. One passenger on the Iryo train said everything went flying when the impact hit from behind. Emergency workers had to enter on foot in several places.

The national emergency director at the Spanish Red Cross said the remote location complicated everything. The crash site can only be reached by a narrow road, which created a bottleneck for ambulances entering and exiting. Fire and rescue crews worked under floodlights through the night.

The operator Iryo and state-run Renfe both confirmed their services were involved. This is Spain's second deadly high-speed crash this year and the deadliest rail accident in Europe since 2013. Prosecutors have opened a file on the authorization chain.

Recovery crews remain on site with cutting equipment and dogs. Officials have not released a final passenger manifest and have warned the toll may still change.