Key facts
- At least 69 bodies recovered from a train crash near Toledo, Spain.
- The crash occurred on a high-speed rail line.
- Transport Minister Oscar Puente suggested human error was to blame.
- A controller cleared a stalled train to advance despite a second train being stuck ahead.
- The incident has shattered confidence in Spain's rail network and government.
- The crash comes weeks before a snap general election.
A catastrophic train collision near Toledo, Spain, has killed at least 69 people, shattering confidence in the country's rail network and the Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez just weeks before a snap general election. Transport Minister Oscar Puente suggested "human error" was to blame for the crash, which involved a stalled train being cleared to advance at up to 160 km/h despite a second train being stuck ahead. The opposition People's Party (PP) has called for Puente's resignation, while Puente defended the LZB signalling system, noting its 170 failures this year were "normal".