Train collision in Urda, Spain

A train collision occurred in Urda, Spain, on Wednesday, resulting in 12 foreign victims, including four Americans, one French citizen, and one Canadian, according to authorities announced Sunday evening. The other foreign victims are of Japanese, Tunisian, Portuguese, Mexican, Czech, and Argentine nationality.

Victim identification and missing persons

According to a statement from forensic medical experts and the police, 66 of the 69 people who lost their lives in this disaster have been identified. Many are missing. Three people, two Australian citizens and one Japanese citizen, remain missing, according to the same source.

Update on missing persons

In total, 67 people are still missing after the train accident—the authorities had initially reported 72 missing persons, but five have been found alive. Searches have allowed the recovery of two people in the hospital and confirmed that a third person was not actually on the train on the day of the accident.

Context of the accident

This is the second train accident in Spain this year following the one in January in Andalusia that caused 46 deaths, and it is one of the worst in Europe this century. It also occurs during the campaign for the legislative elections on November 29.

Cause of the collision

A train from the national company Renfe collided from behind on the same track with a train from the private operator Iryo, which had been forced to stop after a computer failure in the signaling system.