At least 64 dead as two high-speed trains collide in Spain; control room decision under probe

At least 64 people have died after two high-speed trains collided in Spain, leaving the country in shock. Several passengers were also injured.

Preliminary investigation has found that the railway's automatic safety system had shut down. Questions are now being raised over the decisions taken by the control room afterwards. Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente has taken the matter seriously.

A fault in the automatic safety and signalling system on the line disrupted train movements. The system controls a train's speed, its location and the safe distance between two trains. After it went down, some trains stopped on the route. Rail traffic was then managed through the control room.

It has been reported that after the technical fault, the control room allowed one high-speed train to resume its journey. However, another train was standing on the same route. The two trains then collided. Whether the control room's decision in such circumstances was correct is being investigated. Investigators are also examining whether the accident was linked to the technical fault or to human error.

After the accident, rescue teams reached the spot and the injured were admitted to hospital. Work to identify the dead is also under way. The data recorded in the trains' black boxes, the condition of the signalling system and the control room's communications are being examined.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente has said a thorough investigation is needed to clarify the circumstances behind the accident. The final cause has not yet been determined. Which decisions were taken after the technical fault, and who was at fault in them, will become clear only through the investigation.