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Óscar Puente

Óscar Puente

Spain's Transport Minister

Appears in 1 story

Notable Quotes

"It is truly strange. All the railway experts who have been here today are extremely baffled by the accident." — Press conference, January 19, 2026

"It must have been some kind of failure in the rolling stock or the infrastructure, and that will take time to investigate."

"That is the crux of this whole thing, or one of them, knowing what came first — the fracturing of the track and then the derailment, or if the derailment caused the fracture in the track." — Cadena Ser radio, January 20, 2026

Stories

Spain's deadliest rail disaster in 13 years

Built World

Leading government response; cancelled Davos trip

Spain's high-speed rail network had operated without a fatal accident on dedicated lines for 34 years. That ended on January 18, 2026, when an Iryo train traveling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz and collided head-on with a Renfe Alvia service, killing 45 people and injuring 292. A preliminary investigation report published January 23 confirmed that a 30-centimeter crack in the track caused the derailment, though whether the fracture resulted from poor welding, fatigue, or deterioration remains under analysis.

Updated Feb 6