Spain rail disaster: 68 dead after “inexplicable” instruction to train driver | BBC News

At least 68 people are known to have died in Spain’s high-speed rail disaster, with many more injured. It took place when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville smashed into another train which had come to a halt due to a computer failure. The force pushed several carriages fall down an embankment. Spain’s transport minister said the computer failure followed by human error caused the collision, which is one of the deadliest ever recorded in Europe. The collision happened around 100 miles south of Madrid. The stationary train with 147 passengers on board, run by private rail operator Iryo, was one of several trains that had come to a halt due to a computer failure. Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said that operators at a centre in Madrid had then taken control, but had made an "inexplicable" decision to instruct another train to proceed again at normal speed, leading it to run into the rear of the stationary train. Survivors described harrowing scenes of passengers being thrown into the air, trapped in the wreckage and smashing windows to get out. One of the carriages caught fire, and passengers described devastating scenes of people trapped in the wreckage. Spain's Civil Guard said it would need DNA samples from relatives to identify some victims. "The whole of Spain is grieving", Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during a visit to the crash site. "Lives have been shattered, families have been torn apart, the pain is immense." Spain was already reeling from a high-speed rail disaster further south on the same line near Córdoba in January that killed 46 people. Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Guy Hedgecoe. Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news #BBCNews

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At the scene of fatal Spain train crash as investigation gets under way. #Spain #BBCNews

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