Spain holds state funeral for 69 killed in high-speed rail crash

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Spain holds state funeral for 69 killed in high-speed rail crash

2026-11-11 04:31 Last Updated At：04:40

TOLEDO, Spain (AP) — Relatives of the 69 people killed in a high-speed rail collision in Spain last month attended a state funeral on Tuesday with Spain's royals, almost two weeks after the crash.

The ceremony took place in the towering 13th-century Toledo Cathedral in central Spain.

The collision happened on Oct. 28 when a high-speed train slammed into another that was stationary on the Madrid-Seville line near Urda, around 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of the capital.

It was the second deadly collision this year involving Spain’s extensive high-speed rail network, shattering Spaniards' trust in the transit system that is regarded as one of the country's crowning achievements.

Under growing pressure, Transport Minister Óscar Puente stepped down last week. His resignation was followed by that of Luis Pedro Marco, who was head of Spain's railway infrastructure operator.

Spain will hold a general election on Nov. 29, in which progressive Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is seeking reelection.

Sánchez did not attend Tuesday's funeral service.

A 16th-century sculpture of Christ was moved from the town of Urda to the cathedral in Toledo for the funeral service.

Residents of Urda placed 69 candles near the altar in honor of the victims. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia sat near their families.

Sánchez has pledged an investigation and improvements to restore trust in the rail system that last year carried 45 million travelers, including millions of tourists.

Last week, the European Union's independent prosecutor said it had opened an investigation into possible fraud in the use of European funds allocated for safety upgrades and renovations on the same high-speed railway line on which both fatal crashes this year took place.

Rail travel in Spain was disrupted on Tuesday due to a train drivers' strike. A general strike on Wednesday is expected to cause further disruptions to public transit, and shutter or slow down businesses, factories and shops across Spain.

Naishadham reported from Barcelona.

Senate Republicans voting on whether to keep Thune as leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are voting Tuesday afternoon on whether to keep South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader of the GOP conference after steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority.

Thune is expected to prevail, given that he remains popular with his GOP colleagues and is so far running unopposed in the secret ballot election. But Senate Republicans vented their frustrations in three separate meetings on Tuesday after an election wipeout that cost them at least seven Senate seats.

Some Republicans had tried to delay the elections, but the conference voted to proceed, said Sen. Ron Johnson, who had pushed to postpone.

“Our conference spoke, and they’ll be holding the election now,” Johnson told reporters outside the meeting.

“We want to be thoughtful and do the right thing,” said West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice after the first meeting. He said no obvious alternative had emerged, but “there is a legitimate argument that, good gracious, if we lost as badly as we lost, why would we continue on with the same leadership?”

At the same time, the current GOP leadership “didn't cause this problem to happen,” Justice said. “They do a good job.”

The angst — and the indecision — comes as frustrated Republicans are just beginning to reckon with what the election results mean for their future. Two additional Senate races remain uncalled in Alaska and Mississippi that could further deplete their numbers.

Several senators had already called on Republican leadership to delay the elections, which include contests for other party leaders as well and are held in the small Old Senate Chamber.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he isn't aware of anyone else running for leader, but “maybe there would be” if they waited.

“I just think that we’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to think through, and I think that to just rush into this and just ratify all of the same leadership, what message does that send?” Hawley told reporters after walking out.

“If you don’t think after losing seven Senate seats minimum that we need to change course, I don’t know what planet you’re on,” he said.

Thune, who replaced Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as leader in early 2025, said before the meeting that they would have a “very fulsome, robust conversation about where we go from here and then we’ll see what the consensus of the conference is.”

Hawley said the discussion was a “frank” and “honest” open microphone meeting and some senators discussed their own races this year — some who won, and some who lost.

Republicans in the meeting were also pushing Thune to stay in session around the clock in the coming weeks to push through war spending and other party priorities before they lose power.

“We need a plan to get the Republican agenda done,” said Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

Before the meeting, Johnson, the Wisconsin senator, had circulated a letter asking for the delay. He said the conference needs to do some “real soul-searching” but conceded that there's no one else on the ballot.

“That's part of our problem, who would want the job?” he said, turning to a reporter and joking, “Do you want it?”

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said that there is “widespread support” among Republican senators for Thune, who has made it a point to hear out different viewpoints before he makes major decisions and has maintained close relationships with the rank and file — a different approach from his predecessor, McConnell.

Lankford said he supported having the elections on Tuesday because many of the new GOP senators are already in town for freshman orientation.

“It’s a pretty complicated role to be able to manage,” Lankford said of Thune's leadership post. “No one wants that job.”

Walking into the meeting, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said most senators are ready to move forward. It is time to have “leadership in place,” he said.

Thune has spent much of the last two years navigating President Donald Trump, who has often been at odds with the Senate.

While backing Trump on most policies, Thune has refused to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster to pass voting legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters — a position that frustrated Trump and enraged some in the president's political base.

But Trump hosted Thune and his family at the White House in October. He said Monday that the GOP leader is “a very fine man.” The election is “up to the Senate,” Trump said.

The soul-searching comes as lawmakers are trying to wrap up the year’s work — funding the government and seeing if there are some issues where they can work together, including an energy permitting bill that moved forward on a bipartisan vote Monday evening.

When he gets the chance to speak at the meeting, Thune is expected to emphasize his collaborative approach to his colleagues and point out what they did get done in the last year — including the tax and spending cuts legislation and an attempt at reining in the chaotic annual spending process.

In a Senate floor speech Monday, his first extended remarks since the election, Thune said the midterm election was a “tough night” and previewed his pitch to his colleagues who may be looking for answers on how they will navigate the minority.

Republicans will be willing to work with Democrats, Thune said, but “the American people are not looking for socialist government and leftist fantasies.”

Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.