Audio Recordings Capture Control Centre and Driver Exchanges Before Fatal Spain Train Crash

Iryo reported that its train, carrying 147 passengers, was “struck from behind” by a Renfe service transporting 397 people.

Speaking on Wednesday, Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the decision to allow the trains to proceed without speed restrictions as “inexplicable.”

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that “the whole of Spain is grieving,” adding that “lives have been shattered, families have been torn apart, and the pain is immense.”

Emergency responders labored through the night under bright floodlights, cutting into mangled carriages to search for victims, many of whom remain unidentified.

According to Spain’s interior ministry, hundreds of personnel have been dispatched to the crash site to support recovery operations, using drones and helicopters to locate victims and clear debris.

Witnesses recounted seeing injured and bleeding passengers, others trapped in their seats, and smoke filling the carriages, one of which erupted in flames.

Sánchez called it “unacceptable” that Spain has endured two major rail disasters this year, referencing a January high-speed collision near Córdoba that killed 46 people on the same line, though farther south.

Most political parties have halted campaign activities for the upcoming elections in the wake of the tragedy.

The far-right Vox party was the exception. Leader Santiago Abascal said his party would not participate in what he called efforts to “use mourning to silence criticism” of Spain’s rail infrastructure.

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