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Tue, Nov 3, 2026

Four Americans and a Canadian among 69 killed in Spanish train crash

Four Americans and a Canadian among 69 killed in Spanish train crash

Four Americans and one Canadian were among the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed train collision in Spain, authorities said.

So far, 66 of the dead have been identified, authorities said. Most of those killed - 54 of the 69 victims - were Spanish nationals. 

The crash took place last Wednesday when one high-speed train slammed into the back of another that had stopped on the tracks.

Spain's rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred in the province of Toledo.

The two trains were carrying more than 500 passengers and heading in the same direction from the capital Madrid to Seville in southwestern Spain.

A train operated by the state-owned RENFE company struck the rear of another train operated by private company IRYO that was stopped.

Huge cranes lift one of the wrecked carriages of a train crash between a Renfe AVE train and an Iryo train, days after the deadly accident in Urda, in the province of Toledo

Huge cranes lift one of the wrecked carriages of a train crash between a Renfe AVE train and an Iryo train, days after the deadly accident in Urda, in the province of Toledo 

The high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed 69 people and injured scores more in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters this century

The high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed 69 people and injured scores more in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters this century

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the crash was caused by what he termed an 'inexplicable' order from a central command centre for Spain's trains

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the crash was caused by what he termed an 'inexplicable' order from a central command centre for Spain's trains

The collision ended up derailing two carriages at the rear of the IRYO train and the front of the RENFE train.

Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the crash had been caused by what he termed an 'inexplicable' order from a central command centre for Spain's trains after a security system had failed. He stressed that the train engineers were not to blame.

Puente said the train should have never been told to start moving again because there was still a 'stop signal' active on that line, and that it should at least have been told to go at a reduced speed.

Other foreigners among the fatalities who have been identified include one each from France, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Tunisia and the Czech Republic.

Authorities said they have three bodies still to identify and three people reported missing - two Australians and one Japanese.

Two American college students also suffered devastating injuries in the collision, with one requiring a ventilator and the other left unable to eat or drink without assistance.

Austin Hartman, a Cal Poly business student from Bellingham, Washington, suffered multiple broken bones and severe injuries that left him on a ventilator to help him breathe for 24 hours

Austin Hartman, a Cal Poly business student from Bellingham, Washington, suffered multiple broken bones and severe injuries that left him on a ventilator to help him breathe for 24 hours

Leah Silver-Fajardo, 21, a neuropsychology student from Seattle suffered a shattered knee, broken pelvis, fractured ribs and bruised lungs in the horrific collision

Leah Silver-Fajardo, 21, a neuropsychology student from Seattle suffered a shattered knee, broken pelvis, fractured ribs and bruised lungs in the horrific collision

Austin Hartman and Leah Silver-Fajardo, both juniors at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, were enjoying study-abroad experiences in Europe when their lives were turned upside down.

Hartman, a business major from Bellingham, Washington, was taking a day trip to Seville with another Cal Poly student when the trains collided on October 28.

He suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis, hip, thighbone, upper arm, ribs and lower spine, along with extensive cuts to his face and body.

The injuries were so severe that complications with his breathing and circulation required him to be placed on a ventilator for 24 hours.

Hartman now faces multiple surgeries and is not expected to return to the United States for at least two months.

'Austin went from enthusiastically and joyfully living a dream abroad to being confined to a hospital bed and facing an extensive recovery,' his GoFundMe page states. 

Silver-Fajardo, 21, from Seattle, had been studying neuropsychology in Florence, Italy, and had celebrated her birthday with family and friends just three weeks before the disaster.

She suffered a broken knee and pelvis, multiple broken ribs, bruised lungs and burns and scrapes across her body.

Hartman was enjoying a study-abroad trip to Seville when disaster struck and now faces multiple surgeries and at least two months in Spain before returning home

Hartman was enjoying a study-abroad trip to Seville when disaster struck and now faces multiple surgeries and at least two months in Spain before returning home

Silver-Fajardo's family endured an agonizing search after initially not knowing whether she had survived. She faces months of rehabilitation after being left unable to eat or drink without help

Silver-Fajardo's family endured an agonizing search after initially not knowing whether she had survived. She faces months of rehabilitation after being left unable to eat or drink without help

Although she has undergone knee surgery and been moved out of intensive care, she faces another operation to repair her pelvis and months of rehabilitation.

In a Monday update on her GoFundMe page, her mother revealed that Leah 'is completely immobilized' and requires help eating and drinking.

Her family also described the terrifying hours after the crash when her parents, Nicole and Sergio, were contacted by the US Embassy but initially did not know whether their daughter had survived or where she had been taken.

Friends searched hospitals across the area until they finally located her.

Her parents and sister Hannah have since traveled to Spain to remain at her bedside.

'Now, instead of attending classes, exploring new cities, and enjoying life with her friends, Leah is lying in a hospital bed in Spain, recovering from devastating injuries sustained in a tragic train crash that claimed so many lives,' her aunt Rachel Chernin wrote.

The crash took place last Wednesday when one high-speed train slammed into the back of another that had stopped on the tracks

The crash took place last Wednesday when one high-speed train slammed into the back of another that had stopped on the tracks

The collisions have shaken confidence in the Spanish rail network that had long been hailed for its speed and safety

The collisions have shaken confidence in the Spanish rail network that had long been hailed for its speed and safety

Emergency responders work on the site in the aftermath of the collision in which high-speed trains crashed between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, near Toledo, Spain, last week

Emergency responders work on the site in the aftermath of the collision in which high-speed trains crashed between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, near Toledo, Spain, last week

The crash in the province of Toledo came just nine months after another collision farther south on the same Madrid-Seville line killed 46 people. 

The collisions have shaken confidence in the Spanish rail network that had long been hailed for its speed and safety.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged an investigation and improvements to restore trust in the system that carried some 45 million travelers last year, including millions of tourists.

The crash happened one month before a November 29 general election in which Sánchez is seeking to extend his eight-year premiership.

He is now facing questions about the safety of the railways and investments under his governments in Spanish infrastructure.


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