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Spain recovers 69 bodies after high-speed train crash
BBC News·
Spanish authorities have recovered 69 bodies after a high-speed train collision near Toledo. Transport Minister Oscar Puente said a controller cleared a stalled train to advance at up to 160km/h while another train remained ahead. He said LZB signalling had failed 170 times so far this year. A crash near Cordoba nine months earlier killed 46 people.
Prism
What It Means For You
- High-speed passengers in Spain face a second major crash inquiry within nine months.
- Puente said Germany and Austria use the same LZB signalling system Spain relies on.
- Opposition People's Party figures have called for the transport minister to resign.
What's Happening
- Puente told reporters the advancing train was never ordered to stop despite screens in Madrid showing the risk.
- He rejected claims of chronic underinvestment and called many LZB failures normal by EU averages.
- A formal investigation into the Toledo disaster has been launched.
What Investigators Are Told
- January's Adamuz crash near Cordoba remains under investigation, with early reports of a rail crack.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had already called a snap general election before this crash.
- Small protests over the crash have appeared in Madrid, with police on standby for further gatherings.
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