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Spanish Transport Minister Resigns After Deadly Train Crash
· Confirmed
In Short: Óscar Puente resigned as Spain's Transport Minister following a high-speed train collision that killed 69 people.
Óscar Puente, Spain's Transport Minister, resigned on Tuesday following a high-speed train collision that killed 69 people near the village of Urda, south of Madrid, last week.
The crash occurred when a Renfe high-speed train ploughed into the rear of a stationary train operated by private company Iryo, marking the second deadly rail disaster in Spain within a year.
Puente announced his resignation during an appearance before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies, where he faced intense questioning from lawmakers over the October 28 crash.
Puente said, “A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year,” referring to the January crash that killed 46 people.
The minister had earlier pledged to work “tirelessly” to restore confidence in Spain’s high-speed rail network, which is the second-largest in the world.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist who had stood by his minister, said on social media that Puente “has faced up to his responsibilities, offered solutions and then stepped aside.” He added that “politicians like him bring dignity to our country.”
Ester Muñoz, the People’s Party parliamentary chief, said that “The resignation comes 116 lives too late,” referencing the lives lost in the two high-profile rail disasters as well as a train driver who died in a separate accident in Catalonia this year.
The train drivers’ union Semaf, which has called strikes at Renfe for November 10 and 12, has denounced a worsening of working conditions and the use of “degraded systems.”
What this adds
Two Australians were among the 69 people killed in the high-speed train crash in Spain.
Spanish authorities have identified all 69 victims of the high-speed train crash, including two Australians.
Background
Two Australians were among the 69 people killed in a high-speed train crash in Spain, according to reports from 7NEWS and The Guardian.
Spanish authorities have identified all 69 victims of the high-speed train crash, including two Australians.
What's confirmed
- MADRID: Spain’s transport minister handed in his resignation on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people last week, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century.
- Last week’s crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the November 29 ballot, in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
- Óscar Puente had been under mounting pressure as opposition parties and some allies of the government called on him to step down Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente has resigned - six days after the high-speed train collision in which at least 69 people were killed and dozens injured.
- "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year," he said - a reference to January's crash on the same line which left 46 people dead.
- Puente's position immediately came under scrutiny after the 28 October crash.
- "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot continue in office with two accidents of this severity in less than a year," he told lawmakers while announcing his intention to resign.
- Puente had ruled out resigning several times since the crash.
- "minimize the possibility of human error."
- Puente told Congress that "A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year," and he also said he was withdrawing his name from the lists for the early legislative elections.
- Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente has announced his resignation following a high-speed train disaster in Toledo that killed 69 people and injured around 200 others last week, Spanish daily El Pais reported.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist who had stood by his minister, said on social media that Puente “has faced up to his responsibilities, offered solutions and then stepped aside.” He added that “politicians like him bring dignity to our country.” The collision occurred last Wednesday outside the village of Urda, about 80 miles south of Madrid, near Toledo in central Spain.
- MADRID — Spain's transport minister announced Tuesday that he is stepping down, six days after a high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed 69 people.
What's still developing
- "Even at 8:53, when the microphone was cut off, we could still hear snoring."
- Lecornu said these curfews would be confined to certain areas of cities, such as areas with “public transport connections, symbolic, emblematic places as well”.
- Puente said he had decided to resign shortly after the Urda tragedy but had delayed the announcement until he had addressed the urgent task of ensuring railway safety in the short term.
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- Spain's health minister Monica Garcia said that 80 people were injured, 15 of them very seriously.
- Puente said on Tuesday that he had decided to resign immediately after last week’s crash but remained in office while the government coordinated its initial response.
- His resignation came after an hours-long grilling by the Spanish parliament’s standing committee, which is acting on behalf of the parliament while it is dissolved ahead of the Nov. 29 snap election.