"Spain's Pride" turned into shame: the train disaster could cost the anti-Israeli PM the elections

68 killed and 80 injured in a high-speed train collision in Toledo, Spain. A preliminary investigation points to human error in the control room. This is the second train disaster this year on the same line, and the incident may affect the upcoming elections.

A day after the high-speed train collision in Toledo, the death toll stands at 68 and the number of injured at 80, 15 of whom are in intensive care. The accident occurred between a train of the state-owned company Renfe, carrying 397 passengers, and a train of the Italian company Iryo, carrying 146 passengers. A preliminary investigation suggests that human error caused the accident: the control room ordered the Renfe train to resume its journey at high speed, despite the Iryo train being stopped on the track. This is the second high-speed train disaster in Spain this year, after 46 people were killed in January on the same line. The disaster has sparked soul-searching in the country and may affect the elections to be held next month, in which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hopes to win another term. Opposition leaders Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the PP and Santiago Abascal of Vox have sharply criticized the government. The article notes Sánchez's anti-Israeli positions.