10 South Koreans Were Aboard Trains That Collided in Spain; 2 Injured

[Financial News]  

Ten South Koreans were confirmed to have been aboard the trains involved in the collision in Spain. Two of them were injured.
The South Korean Embassy in Spain said on the 28th (local time) that it had rushed a consul to the scene. Both injured passengers—one with minor injuries and the other with an injury to the jaw—are receiving treatment at a hospital.
The consul who arrived at the scene met each of the 10 South Korean passengers in person and confirmed that eight were uninjured and two were injured.
The accident occurred at around 9 a.m. that day near Urda in the Toledo region, south of Madrid, Spain. A train operated by private rail company Iryo collided with one operated by state-owned rail company Renfe. Local authorities said the death toll currently stood at 64, but could rise further.
There were reportedly 397 people aboard the Renfe train and 147 aboard the Iryo train.
The collision occurred less than 10 months after 46 people were killed when high-speed trains collided in the Andalusia region last January.
The Financial Times (FT) reported that the collision has reignited concerns about the safety of train operations in Spain.
Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the Renfe train had been stopped but was instructed by the control center to set off again at around 8:36 a.m. He said the red light was on at the time and an Iryo train was on the same track, but the control center had issued the instruction anyway.
Minister Puente said, “This was clearly the wrong decision.” The two trains, which were about 25 km apart, eventually collided at around 8:53.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said, however, that the cause of this accident appeared to be “unrelated” to the January collision. That accident was caused by a crack in a weld joining sections of rail.
Prime Minister Sánchez said, “We have suffered two terrible tragedies on the high-speed rail network in the same year,” adding, “If there was negligence, it will come to light, and if there were problems with the safety system, the strictest response will follow.”
In the wake of the accident, most political parties suspended their election campaigns ahead of next month’s general election on the 29th.
[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter