Former minister Fátima Báñez reported dead in Urda train collision

The special bulletin raises the death toll to 69 while following victim identification, hospital care and the investigation into instructions given to drivers.

Channel: RTVE Noticias ·

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1:47Herranz reports that the death toll from the Urda train collision has risen to 69.
5:07Bodies arrive at Toledo's forensic institute for identification, while families receive fraudulent messages impersonating authorities.
14:38The bulletin reports former employment minister Fátima Báñez's death and reviews her political career.
20:00The Civil Guard explains how relatives can provide DNA samples to help identify missing victims.
24:06Railway recordings feature in an examination of restart instructions and possible human and technical failures.
32:01Residents of Urda and Consuegra provide food and practical support to emergency teams.

Former Spanish employment minister Fátima Báñez is among those killed in the high-speed train collision near Urda, according to RTVE Noticias, the news service of Spain's public broadcaster Radio Televisión Española. Presenter Alejandra Herranz announces her death during a special broadcast from the area, reporting that she was traveling on the Iryo train.

Báñez, a People's Party politician, served as minister of employment and social security from 2011 to 2018. The bulletin includes a retrospective of her career as the reported death toll from the collision rises to 69.

The broadcast follows the emergency response across the crash site near Urda, in Toledo province south of Madrid, and hospitals treating survivors. Cranes work among the damaged carriages while military emergency personnel assist. At Toledo's forensic institute, bodies arrive for autopsies and identification as relatives continue searching for missing passengers.

Civil Guard spokesperson Llanos Olivares explains that families can provide DNA samples at designated offices to help identify victims. The report also warns that fraudulent text messages impersonating the Civil Guard are reaching relatives.

Hospital correspondents describe continuing intensive care treatment and a blood donation drive in Alcázar de San Juan that has received more than 500 donations. Willier Eduardo, a doctor from Urda's health center, recounts arriving shortly after the crash and treating people with multiple traumatic injuries. Survivors describe the impact, confusion and fear inside the trains.

The investigation turns to recorded exchanges involving the railway control center and instructions to resume movement. The broadcast examines possible technical and human failures, without establishing a final cause. A reporter says the judge overseeing the case has ordered that nothing be removed from the site.

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo demands political accountability, while train drivers' union leader Diego Martín warns against assigning blame prematurely. The accompanying strike coverage concerns a stoppage called before the collision, not one organized in response to it.

Alongside the official response, residents of Urda and nearby Consuegra prepare food and supplies for emergency crews. A baker, a shopkeeper and municipal workers describe the local effort supporting those working at the wreckage.

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