Three days of mourning are under way in Spain, following a horrific high speed train crash, in which 68 people were killed yesterday morning.
This happened in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha, when a service by state operator, Renfe collided into the back of a stationary train, which belonged to private company Iryo.
Emergency services have attended the scene as they combed through the wreckage in the night on the line which links Madrid with southern Seville, with pieces of mangled metal being hoisted with cranes, according to AFP reporters.
This is one of the deadliest train disasters to have occurred in Europe this year, and has raised fresh questions about the safety of Spain's rail network, as the transport minister reported an "error" and "inexplicable circumstances" which led to the crash.
Minister Oscar Puenta, released a statement, saying that an automatic control system went down on 69 kilometres of track, which caused all trains to be stopped, before the centre decided to “resume traffic in circumstances that, from our point of view, are inexplicable,” , with the Renfe train travelling 25 kilometres, prior to striking the Iryo.
He added that the control centre “had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it”.
Elsewhere, a nearby school in the village of Urdu, has been used to allow any relatives to enquire about their loved ones as they frantically wait for news. The school is located around 130 kilometres south of Madrid.
Red Cross members have also offered support to groups of people who arrived, some of them in tears, along with crowds of police and reporters from around the world.
Carmen Garcia, a Red Cross psychologist, has said that they expect "long and hard hours", as "every person will manage it in their own way".
Four offices have been set up across the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Seville by the Civil Guard to allow relatives of the victims to provide DNA samples and help identify anyone missing. Blood donations were also set up in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.
This investigation into the accident is ongoing, and the left wing Government have faced strong criticism over its management of Spain's railways. (Quotes according to The Journal.ie).
