Foreign Nationalities Confirmed in Spain Rail Crash

A joint legal and forensics team in Spain confirmed on Sunday that four Americans, one Canadian, one Japanese citizen, one Argentine, one Mexican, one Tunisian, and one Czech national died in the high-speed train collision near Urda last week. The announcement brings the total number of identified foreign victims to ten. These deaths join those of a French citizen, a Portuguese citizen, and 54 Spaniards already confirmed by officials.

The crash occurred on Wednesday when a state-operated Renfe service collided with the rear of a stationary Iryo train. The incident happened approximately 130 kilometers south of Madrid. An automatic safety system failure had halted all traffic on a 63-kilometer stretch of track. Despite the stoppage, a control center authorized the Renfe train to move forward while the Iryo train remained stopped. This collision marks the second high-speed rail disaster in Spain this year, following a January crash in Andalusia that killed 46 people.

Forensic teams have identified all but three of the 69 victims. Identification efforts have been complicated by the condition of some remains, requiring experts to work from individual body parts. Families of the victims have expressed a desire to travel to Spain for in-person identification. Authorities are currently waiting for these relatives to arrive in the country.

Three active reports for missing persons remain open, concerning two Australian citizens and one Japanese citizen. The legal body overseeing the identification process issued the latest figures in a statement late on Sunday. The statement noted that the confirmation of these foreign nationals was the final step in identifying the majority of the deceased.