68 killed as high-speed trains collide in Toledo

At least 68 people died and approximately 80 were injured when two high-speed trains collided in Toledo province on Wednesday. The crash occurred in the town of Urda on the line connecting Madrid to southern Andalusia. It marks the second fatal accident on this route in less than a year.

Emiliano Garcia-Page, the president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, provided the initial casualty figures. He stated that 50 of the injured suffered serious wounds, while 15 were in critical condition. Medical teams transported the most severely affected patients to hospitals in the region and in Madrid. A sports hall near the crash site served as a triage center where emergency staff sorted survivors by injury severity before transporting them.

Among those killed was Julieta Gallego, a 24-year-old athlete from Madrid. Gallego competed for AD Sprint and regularly participated in Spain’s club championships. Her personal best in the long jump was 5.90 meters, a mark she set in Antequera in 2023. Local media reports described survivors treated near the scene as having head wounds, facial swelling, and bloodied clothing, with many appearing dazed.

The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) confirmed Gallego’s death in a statement posted on X on Thursday. The organization offered support to her family, friends, and club teammates. RFEA president Raul Chapado told the newspaper ABC that the loss was a blow to the athletics family, describing Gallego as a life that had been unjustly extinguished.