Six Canadians injured, one missing after high-speed train crash in Spain

URDA · Six Canadians were injured and a seventh remains unaccounted for following a high-speed train crash in central Spain that killed at least 68 people on Wednesday. The collision happened just before 9 a.m. local time near the town of Urda when a moving train struck another that had stopped on the tracks. Global Affairs Canada confirmed the Canadian casualties and said officials are providing consular assistance. "Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones as well as all of those affected," said department spokesperson Thida Ith.

Spanish authorities said at least 58 other people were hospitalized. Regional president Emiliano García-Page reported at least 80 injuries as rescue crews searched the wreckage. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand stated that consular officials were in close contact with Spanish authorities to assist affected Canadians. Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed Canada's solidarity, saying, "Our thoughts are with their families, the victims and their loved ones in the days and weeks ahead."

Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente attributed the crash to an "inexplicable" order from a central command centre. He said a computer malfunction disabled a security system on a 63-kilometre stretch at 8:30 a.m., forcing all trains there to stop. The command centre then instructed a RENFE train to resume travel without speed restrictions, leading it to collide with a stationary IRYO train at 8:53 a.m. Puente said the train should never have been told to move while a stop signal was active, and engineers were not at fault.

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The collision involved a state-owned RENFE train and a private IRYO service, both travelling from Madrid to Seville. Officials said 397 passengers were on the RENFE train and 147 were on the IRYO train. The impact derailed carriages and scattered debris down an embankment. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said emergency teams focused on rescuing people from the two most damaged cars, describing it as a "high-speed impact."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced three days of national mourning and visited the crash site. "Today all of Spain is grieving," Sánchez said. "It is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year." The crash is Spain's second major rail disaster of 2026, following a January collision that killed 46 people. Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia was suspended after the crash.

With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and Global News