New details and reported audio recordings are shedding light on the moments leading up to Spain's deadly rail disaster, as authorities investigate a possible combination of technical failures and human error.
For 17 minutes, rail traffic controllers reportedly failed to realise that a high-speed AVE train was travelling at more than 200km/h towards a stationary train, with neither safety systems nor operators intervening in time to prevent a collision.
Audio recordings under scrutiny
According to information published by Spanish newspaper El País, audio recordings allegedly capture a rail traffic controller authorising trains to continue operating at normal speeds rather than under safety restrictions after a fault was detected in the signalling system.
Investigators are now examining whether that instruction, together with potential technical malfunctions, contributed to the disaster.
68 dead and 107 injured
The high-speed AVE train was carrying 397 passengers, while the stationary train had 147 people on board.
The latest official toll stands at 68 dead and 107 injured, with several victims reported to be in serious or critical condition.
Key questions for investigators
Spanish authorities are focusing on a series of critical questions:
- Why an incorrect signal was reportedly generated by the system.
- Why the train was allowed to continue its journey.
- Why no one detected for 17 minutes that the two trains were on a collision course.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente reportedly described the incident as "inexplicable", as investigators work to establish the sequence of events that led to one of the country's deadliest rail accidents in recent years.
Emergency services remain fully mobilised while the inquiry continues into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
