At least 64 killed as high-speed train slams into stopped train in central Spain

URDA, Spain (Oct. 28) — A high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped on the tracks Wednesday morning in central Spain, derailing cars and killing at least 64 people, authorities said, according to the Associated Press.

The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha put the confirmed death toll at 64 as rescue teams continued searching the wreckage of the derailed carriages, Reuters reported. Dozens more were injured, and officials warned the numbers could rise.

The crash happened just before 9 a.m. local time on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, about 140 kilometers (roughly 90 miles) south of Madrid, the BBC reported. Citing Spain's transport ministry, public broadcaster RTVE said a train run by the state rail company Renfe struck a train operated by the private company Iryo, sending at least two carriages down an embankment.

The Renfe train, service 2080, had left Madrid's Puerta de Atocha station at 8 a.m. for Seville with 397 passengers, and the Iryo train ahead of it was carrying 146 passengers and a baby, according to figures from rail infrastructure manager Adif reported by the BBC and Sur in English.

The cause has not been confirmed. Sur in English reported that Adif received word of a fault in the line's main signaling system at 8:30 a.m., about 24 minutes before the collision, and that trains were then allowed to resume under a backup system. Renfe said its train continued "as instructed," while the Iryo train remained stopped for reasons the company said it did not know. Spanish media, citing government sources, have pointed to possible human error, the BBC reported.

High-speed service between Madrid and Andalusia was suspended after the crash, Adif and Renfe said. This story will be updated.