Emiliano García-Page said 69 deaths had been verified after the October 28 collision near Urda in Toledo province, but warned the toll could still rise above 70 as investigators identify partial remains. The accident has already left dozens of injured passengers in hospital.

The toll is still being counted

Spain’s railway accident investigation commission, CIAF, briefly put the death toll at 74 before authorities corrected it back to 69 confirmed deaths. García-Page said the figure could still move higher because investigators were dealing with 70 disappearance reports and 31 bags of partial remains.

Authorities in Castilla-La Mancha said at least 110 people received hospital care after the crash. Of those, 60 had been discharged and 50 were still being treated, while four of the 15 patients initially classed as seriously ill were improving.

One of the victims identified in later reporting was Agustín Randazzo, a 51-year-old Argentine passenger. His identification added another named fatality to a toll that has shifted several times since the collision.

What the recordings suggest

Argentina’s La Nación reported that Spanish broadcaster Cadena SER published three recordings of calls before the crash, later analysed by El País and RTVE. In them, the AVE driver warned the Atocha control centre in Madrid that the track ahead was occupied, while controllers discussed which procedure to use before authorizing the train to continue.

The reports said the driver described a Meta 0 indication on the safety system, a signal understood to mean the line ahead was occupied. That detail is now part of the broader inquiry into how two high-speed trains came to collide on the Madrid–Seville line.

Inquiry under pressure

An Adif worker at the control centre who ordered the AVE to resume has refused to give a statement to the Guardia Civil, according to reporting published on October 30. His conduct is under investigation for possible criminal responsibility, and the same report said the drivers had not yet been questioned.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spanish institutions would fully clarify the circumstances of the tragedy and strengthen safety measures. King Felipe VI, after visiting injured passengers in a Toledo hospital, said investigators must establish how and why the collision happened and called for measures to prevent another rail disaster.