Train Crash

Pedro Sánchez says people from 27 nationalities may be among the dead and injured in Spain's train crash.

The confirmed death toll stood at 69, Sánchez told reporters alongside Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page, the Guardian reported. At least 70 people remained unaccounted for. Officials warned the toll could still rise. Emergency workers had identified only 13 bodies so far. Thirty-one more bags held partial remains, a process authorities called very complex. NPR and NBC News had earlier put the toll at 68, before the count rose to 69.

Of 110 people hospitalized after the crash, 71 had been discharged and 39 remained under care, according to the Guardian. Authorities are working with embassies and consulates to confirm the nationalities of the dead and injured, Sánchez said.

Near Urda, in Toledo province, a train struck another from behind Wednesday, NPR reported. It was Spain's second deadly high-speed rail crash this year. Forty-six people died in January when a train derailed and struck another going the opposite direction in southern Spain. Both crashes involved a train run by the state-owned company RENFE and one from the privately owned operator IRYO.

New audio captures the moments leading up to Wednesday's collision, NBC News reported, citing correspondent Raf Sanchez.

Four weeks remain before Spain's national election. Sánchez pledged an investigation and said the country must reinforce rail safety. "It is not acceptable for a country like Spain to endure two high-speed train accidents in the same year," he said, according to NPR.

Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for a full investigation and canceled his party's campaign events for the day, NPR reported. "This is the moment to respect the dead, the injured and their families," he said. "That does not mean we will ignore the fact that Spaniards are asking tough questions that demand answers."

Asked whether he would resign, transport minister Óscar Puente said he was focused on the crash response rather than his own future, NPR reported.

Sánchez's government declared three days of mourning starting Thursday, NPR reported.

Trust in the country's high-speed rail network, once a source of national pride, is "broken," Sánchez said. "The government's job is not just to make the diagnosis, but to offer solutions so that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again," he said, according to the Guardian.