69 Dead in Spain Rail Crash as Foreign Casualties Confirmed

A legal body responsible for identifying victims of last week's high-speed train crash in Spain confirmed the deaths of ten foreign nationals on Sunday. The announcement brings the total number of identified victims to 66 out of 69 killed in the collision.

The ten newly identified individuals include four citizens from the United States. One each from Canada, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia, and the Czech Republic were also named in the statement. These figures join a French national, a Portuguese national, and 54 Spaniards whose deaths were previously announced.

Only three reports for missing persons remain active. These concerns involve two Australians and one Japanese citizen. Authorities noted that families have requested to travel to Spain for in-person identification. The legal body stated it is awaiting their arrival in the country.

The accident occurred when a Renfe service struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train. The crash took place outside the village of Urda, approximately 80 miles south of Madrid. An automatic safety system failure had stopped all trains on a 63km stretch of track. However, a control center authorized the Renfe service to proceed while the Iryo train remained stopped.

This incident marks the second high-speed train collision in Spain this year. A previous crash in Andalusia in January killed 46 people. The event has raised questions about rail safety in the country ahead of the general election scheduled for November 29. Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez is seeking to extend his eight-year premiership.

Forensics teams have been working to identify the dead, sometimes from individual body parts. The process has caused a long wait for relatives. The Sunday statement confirmed that all but three of the victims are now identified.