A Renfe high-speed train struck a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Spain's Toledo province on Wednesday morning, killing at least 69 people, Spanish authorities said, as the government opened three days of national mourning^1,4,6.

The collision happened at 08:53 local time on the Madrid-Seville line, about 140 kilometers south of Madrid, after a computer failure around 08:30 halted trains on a stretch of track, Transport Minister Oscar Puente said^1,3.

Puente said the control center then told the Renfe train to resume without speed restrictions even though a stop signal remained active, and the train traveled about 25 kilometers before hitting the Iryo service^3,4. He said the engineers were not to blame and that the train could have been traveling as fast as 200 kph (124 mph) on that stretch³.

Spanish media, including El Pais, published audio of exchanges between Adif controllers in Madrid and the drivers; in one clip a controller tells the Renfe driver to continue at normal speed, and the Iryo driver later reports she is still stopped at Urda^1,4.

CBS News, citing regional officials, reported 397 passengers on the Renfe train and 147 on the Iryo train³. Al Jazeera put the injured at 77; CBS earlier said 58 people were in hospital^2,3. RTE later said 57 injured remained in hospital and that Spain's Foreign Ministry counted 42 foreign citizens from seven countries among those involved, with one killed and at least seven injured⁶.

Rescue crews, sniffer dogs and thermal drones worked overnight through wreckage thrown down a gravel slope; Toledo received 52 bodies, more than its morgue could hold, and the army set up an improvised facility^4,6. Authorities collected DNA in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba and Seville to identify the dead⁴.

The CEOE employers' group said former employment minister Fatima Banez, who served in Mariano Rajoy's government, was among the victims^6,7.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who visited the site, said it was not acceptable for Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year and pledged an investigation^2,4,7. The January crash at Adamuz on the same corridor killed 45 or 46 people, according to differing outlet counts^2,3,4,5.

Opposition Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo called for an independent review of tracks and safety systems². The far-right Vox party demonstrated in Madrid seeking Puente's resignation, Al Jazeera reported².

Renfe drivers' union Semaf kept a pre-planned 24-hour strike on Thursday over safety agreements it said were not carried out after Adamuz, calling out about 6,000 driving staff while minimum services continued^5,6.

A judicial investigation is expected; Puente said he was stating facts, not assigning blame, while Sanchez said negligence, if found, would be revealed^3,7. Speed at impact and a full passenger accounting were still under review³.