The Civil Guard has interrogated the operator at the Adif control center who regulated railway traffic on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line when the Urda (Toledo) accident occurred, in which at least 64 people have died. Investigators are trying to clarify why the resumption of the journey of a Renfe AVE was authorized, which ended up colliding from behind with an Iryo train stopped on the same track.
According to sources from the investigation confirmed to Europa Press, the agents have taken a statement from the worker in the course of the proceedings aimed at determining the circumstances of the accident, recorded shortly before nine in the morning this Wednesday. The Civil Guard is collaborating with the technicians of the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF), in charge of investigating the causes of the accident.
Puente considers the authorization to resume the journey "inexplicable"
The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has publicly questioned the decision made from the Adif control center in Atocha, from where the Renfe AVE was authorized to continue its route despite the railway regulation system showing a red signal warning of the presence of the Iryo on the track.
Puente has described this authorization as "inexplicable" during his appearance before the media from the Atocha facilities, to which he has gone to learn firsthand the available information about the accident.
The investigation will have to determine the circumstances in which that order was given, what information the personnel responsible for regulating traffic had at their disposal, and why the AVE was allowed to circulate when the other convoy remained stopped ahead.
The worker is identified and his actions will be investigated
The Transport minister has confirmed that the person who gave the go-ahead for the train to resume its journey is identified, although he has avoided anticipating conclusions about his possible responsibility in the accident.
"We have not spoken with him, understand the gravity of the facts and the responsibilities that this may entail," Puente has declared, who has indicated that the worker's actions are subject to what the investigation determines.
The taking of statements by the Guardia Civil constitutes one of the steps to reconstruct the sequence of decisions that preceded the collision. For the moment, no definitive conclusions have been communicated about the causes of the accident or about the possible responsibilities derived from the authorization to resume traffic.
The accident, which has caused at least 64 deaths, has forced the interruption of rail traffic in the high-speed corridor between Madrid and Andalucía while the actions of the emergency teams and the investigators continue.