Spain on Tuesday began three days of national mourning for the victims of a deadly train accident in the country’s south, as emergency crews continued searching the wreckage for possible additional bodies.
Flags were lowered to half-staff across the country as the official death toll from Sunday’s crash climbed to 40 by late Monday. Authorities, however, warned that the figure may rise further, with rescuers still combing through what Andalusia’s regional president Juanma Moreno described as “a twisted mass of metal.”
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Spanish state broadcaster RTVE that search teams believe three more bodies remain trapped inside the wreckage, though they have not yet been added to the official death count.
The accident occurred around 7:45pm on Sunday when the rear section of a train carrying 289 passengers from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with an oncoming train travelling from Madrid to the southern city of Huelva, rail operator Adif said.
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The front of the second train, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers, bore the brunt of the impact. The collision forced its first two carriages off the track and sent them plunging down a four-metre slope. Some victims were found hundreds of metres from the crash site, Moreno said.
Investigators are continuing to probe the cause of the crash, which Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente described as “strange” since it occurred on a straight stretch of track and neither train was travelling at excessive speed. Puente said a broken section of track had been discovered, though it remains unclear whether it was the cause or the result of the derailment.
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Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site near the town of Adamuz on Monday and declared three days of mourning, ordering flags to be flown at half-mast on all public buildings and navy vessels. King Felipe and Queen Letizia are scheduled to visit the area on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Civil Guard is collecting DNA samples from relatives who fear their loved ones may be among the unidentified victims.