Death toll from rail accidents rises in Spain as country mourns worst rail disaster in more than a decade

The number of deaths in Spain The deadliest railway disaster in more than a decade rose to 41 on Tuesday, as the country began three days of national mourning for the victims of the high-speed collision.

The accident took place near Adamuz, in the southern region of Andalusia, on Sunday night, when a high-speed train operated by the private rail company Iryo, which was heading to Madrid from Malaga, derailed, veering into the path of an approaching train operated by Spain’s public network Renfe, which also derailed.

The cause of the accident remains a mystery, although investigators say they will focus on car six of the Iryo train, which they believe was the first to derail. The Civil Guard requested that said car be left where it was stopped for examination.

Railway experts are “extremely surprised” by accident on straight track

“There are many pieces of the puzzle that we must fit together,” Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente told radio station Onda Cero on Tuesday.

Puente on Monday called the accident “extremely strange” because it occurred on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May, adding that “all railway experts are extremely surprised.”

“Nothing seems to suggest there is anything wrong with it,” he said Tuesday, adding that the newly laid track can sometimes show “sins of youth.”

Investigators studying the accident scene found a broken joint in the rails, likely creating a gap that widened as trains passed over it, the Reuters news agency said on Tuesday, citing a source briefed on the initial investigation. The faulty joint could prove key to determining the cause of the accident, the source said.

Puente, however, cautioned against drawing conclusions based on “mere speculation.”

“When the train derailed, there were a lot of fractures in the track, for about 200 meters [yards]. So, for the first fracture on the track, the key is to determine, and currently no expert can say with certainty, whether this fracture was a cause or a consequence,” he told Onda Cero.

“That’s the crux of this whole issue, or one of them, is knowing what happened first: the fracture of the track and then the derailment, or whether the derailment caused the fracture in the track,” Puente said, adding that if there was a problem with the track before the accident, investigators would still “have to find out why.”

Spain’s high-speed rail chief engineer, Alvaro Aznar, told News themezone on Monday that “early signs point to a mechanical failure” as the cause of the accident, but authorities have stressed that it could take weeks, if not longer, to know for sure.

Death toll could still rise as recovery work continues

The residents were among the first to arrive at the scene.

“There were people with missing limbs,” said one man, who carried survivors to safety on his four-wheeled vehicle. “They were crying. Nobody was born to see this.”

The death toll from the accident rose to 41 on Monday afternoon after the body of another passenger was found in one of the Iryo train’s carriages, according to the regional government.

More than 120 people were injured and 39, including four children, remained hospitalized Tuesday as the nation began three days of mourning.

Across the country, public buildings flew flags at half-mast, while television presenters dressed in black and cabinet ministers scaled back their public appearances.

Rescuers began using heavy machinery to remove some of the most damaged train cars from the damaged section of track on Monday, to provide better access to the site.

Juan Manuel Moreno, head of the government of the Andalusia region, said Monday that it would take another 24-48 hours “to know with certainty how many deaths have occurred as a result of this terrible accident.”

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the town of Adamuz on Tuesday to meet with rescue workers and officials.