Breaking: Two Australians dead after high-speed train crash in Spain - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Spanish authorities say they have identified two of the victims of last week's crash as Australian. (Reuters: Susana Vera)
Spanish authorities say they have identified 69 victims of the crash between two high-speed trains in Spain, including two Australians.
The accident was Spain's second high-speed train collision this year and raised fresh questions about the country's rail safety, after a crash in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people.
DFAT says it is providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians.
Two Australians were killed in a deadly collision between two high-speed trains in Spain last week, the ABC has confirmed.
The Communications Office of the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has told the ABC that two Australians were among the 69 people confirmed dead in the crash, and their identities had been communicated to their families.
The collision between two high-speed trains has killed 69 people. (Reuters: Forta)
Last Wednesday's disaster, one of Europe's deadliest rail accidents this century, has seen victims' relatives endure an agonising wait as forensics teams work to identify the dead.
Investigations are continuing into what caused the crash after a high-speed train collided with another train that had stopped on the tracks around 130 kilometres south of Madrid, with 500 passengers on board the two trains.
In an earlier statement, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said consular assistance was being provided to the families of the Australians.
DFAT is continuing to engage with local authorities on whether there were any further Australians who were travelling on the trains.
The victims include 54 Spanish nationals and 15 foreigners — four US citizens, two Australians, two Japanese and one each from Argentina, Canada, France, Mexico, Portugal, Tunisia and the Czech Republic.
The accident was Spain's second high-speed train collision this year and raised fresh questions about the country's rail safety, after a crash in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people.
Cranes help remove the wreckage of the trains involved in the collision. (Reuters: Ana Beltran)
The latest disaster struck when a service by state operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to Spanish company Iryo outside the central village of Urda, around 130km south of Madrid.
The failure of an automatic safety system halted all trains on a 63-kilometre stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey while the other train was still.
The tragedy came one month before a November 29 general election in which Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will seek to overcome unfavourable polls and extend his eight-year premiership.
