Spain Rail Crash Leaves 69 Dead

César Vicente arrived in Toledo on Thursday morning, more than 24 hours after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain. The actor traveled 495 kilometers from Seville to find his father, who was sitting in seat 13A on the RENFE train. That train struck an Iryo service that had stopped on the tracks. At least 69 people died in the crash, and 180 others were injured.

Vicente spent the previous night at a religious center that became a temporary base for affected families. He described the search as unbearable. “I have my father, and I don’t know where he is. I hope to find him, oh my Lord,” Vicente said. He added that the situation felt like hell. His mother and aunt joined him in the cold morning air as they walked near the crash site.

Relatives also turned to social media for leads. Alejandra Marroquín posted on Instagram that her sister Adriana, wearing dark blue clothes, was in car 8 of the RENFE train. Marroquín said they had not been able to reach Adriana. “We’re still praying, we don’t know anything,” she wrote on Thursday morning. Search teams with sniffer dogs continued looking for victims at the scene.

The collision occurred in the Castilla-La Mancha region. Authorities reported that 110 injured people were taken to hospitals. In response, officials issued a call for blood donations. More than 2,000 volunteers in the region offered help. Emiliano García-Page, the regional president, thanked the 1,300 emergency service personnel mobilized for the disaster. He cited a record number of blood donations.

Spain’s high-speed rail network is the second-largest in the world, after China. It had not seen a deadly crash since starting operations more than 30 years ago. This incident marks the second high-speed rail disaster in 2026. In January, 46 people died when one train jumped the track and hit another in southern Spain.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited Toledo University Hospital for more than an hour. They spoke with injured passengers. The King told reporters that Spain must move forward with dignity and resolve. “Let us move forward in their memory. Let us do so together, united. Let us do so with dignity and with resolve,” he said.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed reporters on Thursday morning. He said the government is working to shed light on the tragedy and strengthen security. “The entire government is working to respond to the victims’ families, shed light on the tragedy, and strengthen security so that this never happens again,” Sánchez said.