At least 64 people died and dozens were injured after two high-speed trains collided and derailed in Toledo province, south of Madrid, on the morning of 28 October, according to local officials. The rear-end crash happened at about 9:15 a.m. local time on the line connecting Madrid and Seville, and services on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed route were suspended.

What happened on the line

Rail operator Adif said traffic was suspended after a rear-end collision between two trains. Reporting of the incident places it between the towns of Los Yébenes and Urda, involving a high-speed AVE train that had left Madrid bound for Seville and an Iryo train travelling in the opposite direction. At least two rail cars reportedly left the tracks and fell down an embankment, and footage from regional television showed a derailed train with wreckage strewn below an elevated section of track. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said emergency services were working on the ground, and the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said attending to those affected and their families was the immediate priority.

Questions over the cause

Spain's transport minister, Óscar Puente, told reporters that the train's control system failed because of a computer communication issue, according to Reuters. That account should be treated as an early official explanation, not a completed investigation, and the death toll may still rise as rescue and recovery work continues.

Sources: USA TODAY (contributing Reuters) and Reuters.