Search Ongoing For Two People As Deaths From Spain Rail Crash Hit 41

MADRID, Jan 21 (Bernama-dpa) -- The confirmed death toll from the high-speed train crash in southern Spain stood at 41 on Tuesday, with the authorities fearing that a further two bodies could be found in the mangled wreckage, reported German news agency dpa.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told state broadcaster RTVE that 43 people were listed as missing. Police were using tracker dogs to look for further victims.

Regarding the cause of the accident, Grande-Marlaska said that all theories remained open and that track damage or a fault in one of the trains could not be ruled out.

On Monday evening, he said seven of the dead had been identified. The authorities called on the families of potential victims to provide DNA samples to speed up identification. Relatives complained of a lack of information on those listed as missing.

Reports on the number of injured varied. The police spoke of more than 170 after the accident, but state television later reported 122 injured. On Tuesday, 39 people were still being treated in hospital, but none was in acute danger, according to RTVE.

The two high-speed trains collided at around 7:40 pm (1840 GMT) on Sunday near the town of Adamuz in the Andalusian province of Córdoba, some 30 kilometres north-east of the city of Córdoba.

An Iryo train, travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour and carrying more than 300 people, derailed and came to rest on the adjacent track, Spanish train operator Renfe said. An oncoming Renfe train with about 200 onboard was passing at that precise moment, smashing into the Iryo train and also derailing.

The Iryo train was operated by the Italian company Trenitalia.

Police published a video showing a broken railway line. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said it was not clear whether this was the cause or the effect of the accident.

--BERNAMA-dpa