Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleAt least 68 people are dead after a high-speed train crashed into another train that had stopped on the tracks near Toledo, Spain. Six Canadians are among the injured, and one more is unaccounted for.
Global Affairs Canada says consular officials are helping the Canadians affected and are in contact with Spanish authorities. The department has not released their names or hometowns.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would help as needed. “Our thoughts are with their families, the victims and their loved ones,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
What happened
The crash happened Wednesday morning near the town of Urda in Toledo province, on the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia. Both trains were travelling south from Madrid toward Seville.
A train run by state-owned Renfe hit the back of a train run by private operator Iryo. Two coaches left the tracks and fell down an embankment. The Renfe train had 397 people aboard and the Iryo train about 146.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha confirmed at least 68 deaths. Some reports put the toll at 69. Dozens more were hurt, and 58 people were being treated in hospital Wednesday night. Rescue crews kept searching the wreckage overnight.
Questions over a signal order
Transport Minister Óscar Puente gave an early account of what went wrong. He said a safety system on a 63-kilometre stretch failed at 8:30 a.m. because of a computer malfunction. All trains in the section stopped.
Puente said central command later told the Renfe train to move again without any speed limit, even though a stop signal was still active. The train struck the stopped Iryo train at 8:53 a.m., possibly at about 200 km/h.
He called the order “inexplicable” and said the train drivers were not to blame. “I am not attributing responsibility to anyone,” he added. An independent rail accident commission will investigate.
Second disaster this year
This is Spain’s deadliest high-speed rail crash since 2013, and its second major one in 2026. In January, a crash near Adamuz in Córdoba province killed 46 people.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning, which began Thursday. “Today all of Spain is grieving,” he said. He promised an investigation and stronger rail safety.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo also called for a full investigation. Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia was suspended.
Help for Canadians
Canadians who need help in Spain, or who are worried about a family member, can contact Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre, which is open around the clock.
Sources: Global Affairs Canada, The Canadian Press, Associated Press, CBS News, ABC News, Global News, ITV News
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
