Rescue workers in central Spain spent Thursday picking through the mangled carriages of a high-speed train crash, with the death toll now put at 69 and the public demanding answers about how the collision happened.
Cranes worked through the night to lift sections of the wreckage, and emergency workers were seen removing what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the province of Toledo.
Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the number of deaths had risen to 69 and that human remains were found during the search, which now centred on crane operations around a carriage that remained overturned.
Among the dead was Fatima Banez, a former labour minister who chaired the social and corporate responsibility arm of Spain's employers' association, in what is now Europe's deadliest train accident since a derailment in Santiago de Compostela in 2013.
Spain's Foreign Ministry said 42 foreign citizens from seven countries were involved in the crash, of whom one was killed and at least seven were injured, while authorities said 57 of the injured remained in hospital.
Rail unions blame funding cuts for safety failures
The crash has sharpened a debate about safety on Spain's railways, Europe's longest high-speed network, which until recently was a source of national pride.
Train drivers went ahead with a previously planned strike to press for more investment in railway safety, with union SEMAF's Diego Martin saying the sector must have every safety system required to maintain the quality standards it always had, and that such incidents must not be allowed to happen again.
State rail operator Renfe said the strike caused significant disruption to services, adding that passengers could change or cancel tickets free of charge and would be notified about affected services.
The crash followed another fatal accident in January involving the same rail companies on the same line, and it has also upended campaigning for a November 29 snap election, with the leaders of Spain's two main parties suspending campaign events.
Signal failure and the decision that is now under scrutiny
The Spanish government has declared three days of national mourning, and Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Wednesday that several trains had stopped because of a signal failure before the crash.
Puente said a Renfe train was then authorised to proceed at normal speed even though a stationary train operated by Iryo was ahead of it, a decision the government has since described as inexplicable.
Unions blamed a lack of funding and will to improve safety, saying talks held after January's crash were abandoned by the government in April, while Puente rejected criticism that the Spanish railway system was unsafe, calling it reliable and safe within the limits of the material itself and of human action, as with any form of transport.
Pope sends condolences as huge rescue operation continues
Pope Leo sent condolences to the families of those killed, wished a speedy recovery to the injured, and conveyed support and comfort to all those affected, while also encouraging rescue workers to continue their efforts.
Spain's Interior Ministry said the operation involved more than 800 military and police personnel, over 200 vehicles, three helicopters, a mobile command post, drones, mounted units and search dogs.
As investigations began, a judge in Toledo barred anyone not involved in emergency, security, healthcare or judicial work from the crash site, setting a two-kilometre exclusion zone in both directions along the Madrid-Seville high-speed line.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who travelled to Toledo, said authorities were working day and night to support the victims and their families and to get to the bottom of every last detail of the tragedy, while People's Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo visited the town of Urda, where local people rushed to help with rescue efforts after the crash.
