At least 68 people were killed and more than 100 injured when the Renfe train rear-ended a stationary Iryo train near the town of Urda, in Toledo province, on the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville, CNN reported.
Twenty-four people died on the Renfe train and 44 on the Iryo train, both traveling between the two cities. Transportation Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure affected the LZB safety system along 63 kilometers (40 miles) and automatically stopped all trains in the stretch; state rail manager ADIF took manual command and authorized the Renfe train to continue southbound despite the red light and with no speed restrictions, on an erroneous order from a controller. “There was a red signal prohibiting movement, yet the train was authorized to proceed,” Puente said. Audio released by El País shows the controller telling the AVE driver to resume “la marcha normal”, instead of the “marcha a vista” of 40 km/h set out in the protocol.