The death toll from the collision of two high-speed trains in Urda (Toledo) rose this Wednesday to 64 fatalities —40 in the Iryo and 24 in the Renfe AVE— and at least 80 injured, as confirmed by the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, from the Advanced Command Post set up in the town, according to Europa Press.
The number represents a significant increase from the previous toll of 46 dead, which had been reported in the early hours following the incident. The update came after rescue teams were able to access the Iryo cars, which had been crushed upon impact.
García-Page explained the evolution of the figures candidly: "In the area of the Iryo, where we had counted six deceased, there are now already 34, along with another six that we are still certain are inside the carriage."
The regional president warned that the number could continue to rise: "We're talking about approximately 64, but it's likely to increase even more." Clearly affected, he added: "It's outrageous."
The spokesperson for the regional government, Esther Padilla, specified that of the 80 injured, 50 are in serious condition and 30 have minor injuries. The patients were distributed among several centers: at least 29 at the Toledo General University Hospital, 20 at the Mancha Centro in Alcázar de San Juan, four at the Ciudad Real General Hospital, one at the Albacete General Hospital, and three transferred to hospitals in Madrid.
The collision occurred shortly before nine in the morning when a Renfe AVE, carrying 397 passengers, struck from behind an Iryo train that was transporting 147 travelers and was stopped at kilometer 118 of the high-speed line from Madrid to Seville, between Los Yébenes and Urda.
One of the survivors of the Iryo, Jorge Guales, described the magnitude of the impact: "The two back cars were crushed like paper, as if you were tearing paper. It's scary."
The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, appeared from the Adif control center in Atocha to explain the sequence of the incident. According to his account, at 08:30, the automatic signaling system LZB failed due to a communication error over a stretch of 63 kilometers, which halted the movement of six trains. Six minutes later, the control center authorized the AVE to resume operation normally even though the circuit was still occupied and the signal was red.
"The system failed at 8:30, and at 8:36 the decision was made to resume operations," summarized Puente, who described that decision as "inexplicable" and pointed out that it was taken "against the regulations," which required a maximum speed of 40 km/h. The AVE traveled about 20 kilometers at a speed that could reach 200 km/h before colliding with the stopped Iryo.
The minister ruled out resigning and attributed the tragedy to human error: "I'm not thinking about myself," he responded when asked about his potential resignation.
The Civil Guard and technicians from the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) questioned the operator at the Adif control center who was managing traffic at the time of the incident. Adif suspended all high-speed traffic between Madrid and Andalusia.
The regional government activated the Territorial Emergency Plan of Castilla-La Mancha (PLATECAM) at Operational Situation 2 and requested the intervention of the Emergency Military Unit (UME), which deployed 200 personnel to the area. A free hotline (900 122 112) was set up for the families of those affected, and psychological support points were established in Atocha, Sevilla-Santa Justa, Córdoba, and the school in Urda.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, suspended his agenda and traveled to Urda to了解 the situation on the ground. The CEOE reported that its president, Fátima Báñez, was on the derailed Iryo train and her whereabouts were unknown at the time the information was finalized.
This is the second major disaster in the Spanish high-speed network in less than a year: in January 2026, an accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) resulted in nearly 46 fatalities, including a Cuban citizen residing in Huelva.
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