Spain train crash: US, Japanese and Canadian citizens among the dead
Authorities have confirmed that four US citizens and one national each from several other countries were among the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed train collision in Spain. Three victims remain unidentified.
Four US citizens and one person each from Canada, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Tunisia and the Czech Republic are among the 69 people killed in a high-speed train collision in Spain last Wednesday, authorities have said. It is one of the deadliest rail accidents in Europe this century.
A legal body set up to handle identification, made up of police and forensic experts, issued a statement late on Sunday naming the ten latest confirmed foreign victims. Relatives have faced a distressing wait, as forensic teams sometimes have to identify the dead from individual body parts. The body had earlier announced the deaths of one French citizen, one Portuguese citizen and 54 Spaniards.
All but three of the victims have now been identified. Three missing-person reports remain open, concerning two Australians and one Japanese citizen. Authorities said the families they had contacted wish to travel to Spain to identify their relatives in person, and their arrival is awaited.
Second high-speed crash this year
It is Spain's second high-speed train collision this year. A crash in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people, and the latest accident has raised fresh questions about the country's rail safety.
The latest crash happened when a train run by state operator Renfe ran into the back of a stationary train belonging to the Spanish company Iryo near the village of Urda in central Spain, about 130km (80 miles) south of Madrid. A failure of an automatic safety system had halted all trains on a 63km stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey while the other train was still standing.
Political context
The accident came one month before a general election on 29 November, in which Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, who has been prime minister for eight years, will try to overcome unfavourable polls and extend his time in office.
