Leaked audio shows control centre cleared train to proceed at normal speed before fatal Spain crash

Leaked audio recordings published in Spanish media have revealed conversations between train drivers and Madrid's control centre in the minutes before a deadly crash on Wednesday morning that killed 69 people. The disaster occurred when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville collided with a stationary train near Urda, about 25km (15 miles) from where the stopped service had stalled. Dozens of people were injured, with survivors describing passengers trapped in their seats, missing limbs and smoke filling carriages, one of which caught fire. Three recordings between the control centre and two train drivers appear to show that one high-speed train was given clearance to move even though another had stopped on the track ahead. The recordings were published by several Spanish outlets, including El Pais and RTVE. In one recording, a control centre operator tells the driver of a Renfe train, which was experiencing technical difficulties: "Continue your journey and then proceed under [Lateral Signalling Block], at normal speed with normal operation." When the driver asks "At normal speed?", the controller replies: "Yes." The Lateral Signalling Block is a back-up system used when the automatic signalling or data transmission system fails. In another recording, the driver of a stationary Iryo train reports that communication with the train-control system has been lost. The driver says the train "is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda", and is later told to "resume the journey" normally. In a later recording, the Iryo driver contacts the control centre again to say the train cannot be started. "The train won't allow me to control the [security] system. That's why I am still stopped in front of the entry signal," the driver says. The recording suggests the controller had been notified that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached. A reported computer failure in the automatic signalling system had forced all trains to halt on the affected stretch, but the Renfe train was later ordered to proceed "in error", according to Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente, who on Wednesday described the decision to instruct the trains to move again without speed restrictions as "inexplicable". Iryo said its carriages were "struck from behind" by the other train. The moving train, operated by state-owned Renfe, was carrying 397 passengers, while the stationary Iryo train had 147 on board. The crash is one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history and Spain's worst since 2013. The country began three days of national mourning on Thursday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, speaking from the crash site, said authorities were "working day and night not only to support the victims' families, but also to establish every last detail of this tragedy and strengthen safety measures to ensure it never happens again". On Thursday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited injured passengers in a hospital in Toledo, after which the King pledged to victims' relatives that the investigation would determine why the crash happened and what measures would be taken to prevent a repeat. The leaking of the recordings has drawn criticism from some politicians. Alberto Ibáñez, a member of Congress for the left-wing Sumar platform, described them on X as "despicable". Irene Montero, the prime ministerial candidate for the left-wing Podemos party, said responsibility should not be placed on a single worker, adding that drivers and experts had long warned against the liberalisation of the railway sector. Most Spanish politicians have cancelled public engagements and suspended campaigning ahead of a snap election on 29 November. The far-right party Vox is the exception, with its leader Santiago Abascal saying his party would not take part in what he called attempts to "use mourning to silence criticism" of the country's rail infrastructure. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the main opposition People's Party, said: "Spain has the right to know what is happening with its infrastructure." Around 1,500 people gathered overnight outside the transport ministry building in Madrid, according to broadcaster TVE, with demonstrators largely calling for the resignations of Sánchez and Puente. Police used tear gas after protesters hurled bottles and flares; no injuries or arrests were reported. Rail drivers went ahead with a planned strike on Thursday, with the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers (Semaf) saying the action was being held "in defence of railway safety". At the crash site, emergency crews worked through the night under floodlights to cut open metal carriages in the search for victims, many of whom have yet to be identified. Spain's interior ministry said hundreds of personnel had been deployed, with drones and helicopters used to find victims and remove rubble. A Civil Guard spokesperson told the BBC that more than 900 people from specialist departments had been deployed and that identifying the deceased was now the priority, urging relatives of missing people to provide DNA samples at centres set up locally.