Leaked audio shows control centre cleared train at normal speed before Spain crash that killed 69

At least 69 people have been killed and dozens injured after a state-operated Renfe high-speed train crashed into the back of a stationary train run by the private Iryo company on Wednesday morning near the town of Urda, on the high-speed line to Seville. Some carriages fell down an embankment in the collision, which took place between the municipalities of Mora and Orgaz, about 140km south of Madrid. Three days of national mourning began in Spain on Thursday. Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a computer failure at about 08:30 halted six moving trains, including the two that subsequently collided. He said the control centre took over in the event of a system failure and decided to allow the trains to move again without any speed restrictions, a decision he described as having been made under inexplicable circumstances. The Renfe train then struck the Iryo train, which was stationary about 25km ahead. The crash occurred at 08:53 local time (07:53 GMT). Audio recordings obtained by Spanish media between controllers at Adif, the rail infrastructure company, and train drivers appear to show that the Renfe train was given clearance to move at 08:36 even though a train ahead had stalled. In one recording, the controller tells the Renfe driver to disconnect and reconnect the LZB mechanism that monitors train speeds and then proceed under the Lateral Signalling Block, a back-up system used when automatic signalling fails, at normal speed. When the driver asks, "At normal speed?" the controller replies, "Yes." Under normal protocols, the driver would have been expected to travel at a maximum of 40km/h according to their line of sight on a track designed for speeds of up to 200km/h. In a second recording, the Iryo driver tells the control centre the train is stationary in front of the entry signal at Urda, and is later heard saying the train will not allow control of the security system. The recordings suggest the controller had been notified that the Iryo train remained stationary as the Renfe train approached. Iryo said its train was struck from behind due to causes that are still unknown. More than 540 people were on board the two trains. Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, told TVE that the Iryo train was carrying 146 passengers plus one baby, while the Renfe train had 397 passengers. Among the dead were 24-year-old Spanish long jumper Julieta Gallego and former government minister Fátima Báñez, 59. More than 100 people were treated for injuries, and by the next day 50 remained in hospital, 15 of them in a critical condition. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the whole of Spain is grieving and that lives have been shattered and families torn apart. Speaking during a visit to the crash site, he said the pain is immense and that the government was trying to determine the origin of the tragedy. "We will get to the bottom of this, and if there has been any negligence, it will come to light," he said, adding that any failures in the security system would be addressed with the utmost firmness. Opposition conservative leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whose People's Party leads most opinion polls ahead of 29 November elections, said it was not the day to discuss political responsibility but insisted Spain has the right to know what is going on with its infrastructure. Most politicians cancelled public engagements and suspended campaigning, though Santiago Abascal of the far-right Vox refused to join what his party described as attempts to use mourning to silence criticism of the rail network. A large emergency response was under way, with fire crews and helicopters at the scene. Hospitals in the area suspended planned surgeries as casualties arrived, and facilities in Toledo, Ciudad Real and Alcázar de San Juan cancelled procedures. A Madrid blood transfusion centre appealed for urgent donations, and the Spanish Civil Guard set up bureaus in Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Córdoba to investigate reports of missing persons, saying its top priority was identifying the missing and taking DNA samples to locate their relatives. The disaster is Spain's worst rail crash since 2013 and one of the worst in Europe's modern history. It is the second high-speed rail tragedy in the country this year: in January, a high-speed train derailed in southern Spain, its rear carriages going into the path of a state-run Renfe train and killing 46 people. The royal family expressed shock and condolences, and the European Union said it stood ready to help Spain if needed.