A train crash near Urda, Spain killed 69 people on Wednesday when a high-speed Renfe train struck a stationary Iryo train, according to the BBC. Spain began three days of national mourning on Thursday.
Leaked audio recordings published by Spanish media outlets including El País and RTVE reveal exchanges between Madrid's control centre and train drivers minutes before the collision. The recordings show a control centre operator instructing the Renfe train driver to proceed at normal speed using a backup signalling system after the automatic signalling system failed. The Iryo train driver separately reported losing communication with the control system and remaining stationary, but was later told to resume its journey.
Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente called the decision to instruct trains to move without speed restrictions "inexplicable" and said it was made "in error". Officials are investigating the cause. The Renfe train carried 397 passengers and the Iryo train carried 147 passengers. Dozens more were injured. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited injured passengers in a hospital on Thursday.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said authorities would "get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy" and pledged to strengthen safety measures. Around 1,500 people gathered outside the transport ministry in Madrid on Wednesday night calling for resignations. Police used tear gas after protesters hurled bottles and flares. Rail drivers held a planned strike on Thursday in what the Spanish Union of Railway Drivers called "defence of railway safety".