Home · World · Nov 3 archive
Two Australians Among 69 Dead in Spain Train Crash
· Confirmed
In Short: Two Australians were among the 69 people killed in a high-speed train crash in Spain, according to reports from 7NEWS and The Guardian.
7NEWS and The Guardian reported that the crash occurred when a service by state operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to Spanish company Iryo outside the central village of Urda, about 130km south of Madrid.
The Guardian noted that the disaster struck when the trains collided, while 7NEWS emphasized that the crash was the second accident on the same line this year, following a January incident that killed 46 people.
Both outlets confirmed that the victims included 54 Spanish nationals and 15 foreign nationals, comprising one Argentine, two Australians, one Canadian, one Czech, four Americans, one French, two Japanese, one Mexican, one Portuguese, and one Tunisian.
The transport minister stated that a computer failure knocked out the signalling system, but a subsequent control-centre order for the train to resume its journey was deemed 'inexplicable'.
The High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha, via the Integrated Data Centre (CID), confirmed the identities of the two missing Australians, declaring them dead.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians who died, offering support and guidance for final care arrangements.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government would approve an aid package doubling payouts for crash victims, advancing compensation payments, and improving temporary incapacity cover.
Spain’s transport minister is facing calls for his resignation as lawmakers prepare to grill him over the handling of the crash.
The Australian government is working to verify the safety of two Australian citizens believed to have been caught up in the disaster.
The Spanish prime minister has declared three days of mourning after the collision, which is Europe’s worst train crash since 2013.
Both 7NEWS and The Guardian agree that the crash involved two high-speed trains and resulted in the deaths of 69 people, including two Australians.
Background
Spanish authorities have identified all 69 victims of the high-speed train collision, including two Australians.
What's confirmed
- Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow “The 69 identifications correspond to 54 Spanish nationals and 15 foreign nationals, comprising: one Argentine, two Australians, one Canadian, one Czech, four Americans, one French, two Japanese, one Mexican, one Portuguese, one Tunisian.” The authority said the victims were 40 men and 29 women, all adults.
- It also marks Europe’s worst train crash since 2013.
- It was the second accident on the same line this year after a crash in January that killed 46 people.
- Spain’s transport minister said on Friday it is believed the crash occurred after a computer failure knocked out the signalling system but a subsequent control-centre order for the train to resume its journey was “inexplicable”.
- Spanish authorities say they have identified 69 victims of the crash between two high-speed trains.
- "We send our deepest condolences to the families at this difficult time".
- "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of two Australians who died in Spain," a DFAT spokesperson told SBS News.
- Two Australians died in a high-speed train crash in Spain last week, according to local authorities who confirmed the identity of 69 victims.
- The devastating incident occurred when two high-speed trains heading in the same direction from Madrid to Seville collided near Urda, around 140km south of the capital.
- Two Australians have been killed in a deadly crash between two high-speed trains in central Spain last week.
What's still developing
- A legal body set up to handle the identification work, made up of police and forensics experts, announced in a statement late on Monday the three latest confirmed victims – two Australians and a Japanese citizen.
- Australian authorities have launched an investigation into the country's connections to Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to crash a passenger plane traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30.
- The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed to the BBC that it was examining al-Hammami's ties to Australia in cooperation with state police and the country's security agency.
- Senna Agius set a new Moto2 lap record, and Joel Kelso finished second in Moto3 as the Australians made a strong start to the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.
- World Championship leader Jorge Martin only just made the MotoGP cut, Francesco Bagnaia was left down in 19th, and Jack Miller faced a difficult opening day that began with a crash and ended with the Australian 20th.
- The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, says the housing crisis has been cooking for more than 40 years and then goes into a bit of a compare and contrast with the opposition’s policies. double quotation mark The combined effect of our supply measures as a government is going to build an additional 400,000 homes for Australians, a big part of that, Speaker, is our push on social and affordable homes.
- We have a fundamental belief on the Labor side of politics that the government has got to be involved in the task of housing Australians.
- Webster has another crack and asks why Mulino is “refusing to protect Australians …” which gets some more groans and Dick once again tells Webster to remove that part of the question completely.
- Australians are among those caught up in the chaos with passengers travelling from Melbourne and Sydney to Jakarta unable to fly as scheduled on Saturday night, the ABC reported.
- The ash is also affecting air quality, with Australians who have asthma or other respiratory conditions advised to take extra care.
- Australians with upcoming travel plans should monitor their flight status and confirm any changes directly with their airline or travel provider before leaving for the airport.
- OpenAI is 'sorry' after its agents access Australian government websites, and cancels the release of its latest model OpenAI, the artificial intelligence giant behind ChatGPT, has issued a grovelling apology to Australia after a “new kind of cyber incident” saw its models seek unauthorised access to government data.
Sources
- 7Newslink
- ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporationlink
- Nine.com.aulink
- Oz Arab Medialink
- SBSlink
- SMH.com.aulink
- The Guardianlink
- Thenightlylink
- https://aapnews.aap.com.au/link
- Surinametimeslink
- Independentlink
- Israelnationalnewslink
- Crictrackerlink
- Newslink
- Mcnewslink
- Startsat60link
- ABC News (Australia) — video link