Spain train crash: Sanchez declares three days of mourning after 68 killed

Spain train crash: Sanchez declares three days of mourning after 68 killed - At least two train carriages derailed and tumbled down an embankment. (Manu Fernandez/AP Photo/picture alliance)

Two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers collided south of Madrid. Spain's transport minister said one of the trains was told to continue its journey despite a "red signal" being in effect.

Spain has begun three days of mourning after a high-speed rail collision killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.

The crash involved a high-speed, publicly run Renfe train colliding with the back of a privately run Iryo train that was stopped farther along the tracks on the line between Madrid and the southern city of Seville.

The trains crashed just after 9 am on Wednesday, between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, near Toledo. About 540 people were on the two trains, local officials said.

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More than 100 remain injured.

Wednesday's accident was the second train disaster to have taken place in Spain this year and the deadliest train crash in Europe since 2013.

The train crash earlier this year in Spain also took place on the same line, with the collision near Cordoba having killed 46 people in January.

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Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address from near the accident site that "all of Spain" was in mourning.

He said the "terrible tragedy" would be investigated and vowed to address any failures that came to light.

Spain's Transportation Minister Oscar Puente said the crash resulted from an "inexplicable" decision by operators to have the high-speed train continue on its journey after a computer error had triggered a red signal closing down the stretch of track.

All major parties, apart from the far-right Vox party, cancelled their campaigning on Wednesday out of respect for the victims. Spaniards are set to head to the polls on November 29.

EU flags have been lowered to half-mast in solidarity with Spain

European Union flags have been lowered to half-mast outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels as a marker of European solidarity.

The Commission said the flags were lowered after Spain declared three days of official mourning.