King Felipe of Spain had to be quietly corrected by his wife Queen Letizia as he gave a heartfelt speech outside the Toledo University Hospital on Thursday.
The royal couple appeared emotional, having just spent time with survivors of the Toledo rail crash, as well as the healthcare workers treating them.
At least 69 people were killed and over 100 others injured when a Renfe high-speed AVE train rear-ended a stationary Iryo high-speed train near Urda in the Toledo province of Spain on Wednesday.
Felipe and Letizia looked sombre as they arrived at the Toledo University Hospital. The king, who wore a grey suit, was greeted by the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, as he arrived. Letizia was dressed in black.
The King makes an error in emotional address
As they emerged from the facility, both appeared emotional and seemed to be wiping away tears as the King read a speech from his phone.
During his address, the monarch made an error, however, which his wife quietly corrected.
© Getty ImagesHe referred to "the tragedy in Aramuz" - rather than Urda, where Wednesday's tragedy occurred. He later acknowledged his mistake, noting that "the queen was quite right" after she took him to one side and pointed out his error.
The Aramuz train disaster took place on 18 January 2026, when an Iryo high-speed train derailed in Adamuz (Córdoba, Spain), and an oncoming Renfe Alvia train crashed into the wreckage, killing 46 people and injuring 292 others.
Spain in mourning after second train disaster in nine months
Spain is holding three days of mourning following this week's horrific event.
Iñaki García, 60, was on the stationary Iryo train that was rammed from behind by a Renfe train on the Madrid-Seville line. He told the BBC: "There were people injured, walking around, there were dead people," he said. "In the next carriage along there were a lot of dead people."
© Anadolu via Getty ImagesA pharmacist from Urda, Antonio Garcia, was one of the first to reach the scene, bringing with him first aid supplies and medicine. He told Spanish radio: "One of [the passengers] was saying goodbye to his wife and children. His last words were 'God is good.'"
What caused the crash?
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said that authorities are "working day and night, not only to provide a response to the victims and their families, but to clarify every last detail of this tragedy and to strengthen security so that it never happens again".
Transport Minister Óscar Puente has suggested that a combination of “inexplicable” human error and a computer failure was likely behind the tragedy.
He said in a press conference that the state-operated Renfe train slamming into the rear of a stationary private train operated by Iryo was due to an “inexplicable” order from a command centre for Spain’s trains. He also noted that the centre had a computer malfunction before the order.
“It was the control center, through its operators, that made the decision to resume traffic, under circumstances that, from our point of view, are inexplicable… Clearly, it was a wrong decision."
The minister said that they have identified the person who decided to let the Renfe train continue moving even though the Iryo one had already stopped, but he has not spoken to the control centre operator: "This person is subject to whatever the investigation determines."
