Spain Names 66 of 69 Dead in Urda Train Crash, Including Four Americans

Spanish authorities have identified 66 of the 69 people killed in last week's high-speed train collision near Urda, in the central province of Toledo, as forensic teams near the end of a painstaking identification effort. The figures were released November 2 by the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha and reported by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.

Of the 66 identified victims, 54 were Spanish nationals and 12 were foreign citizens. The foreign victims included four Americans and one citizen each from Argentina, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, and Tunisia. Families had been notified in 60 cases.

Three victims remain unidentified, and three missing-person reports are still open, involving two Australian nationals and one Japanese national. Authorities have not confirmed whether those missing-person cases correspond directly to the three victims still awaiting identification.

The crash occurred on October 28, when a train operated by Spain's state-owned Renfe collided with the rear of a stationary train operated by Iryo on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line. More than 60 specialists have worked in Toledo since the crash, carrying out autopsies and identifying victims through fingerprint analysis and DNA testing.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Transport Minister Óscar Puente has blamed a traffic controller's decision, while railway unions have pointed to growing workloads and possible failures in signalling or control-room procedures. The crash has added pressure to Spain's rail safety debate ahead of the November 29 election.