“I want to send a very big hug to all the families who have lost their loved ones. It is hard to find words in moments like these. All my affection and much strength also to the injured people.”

Those were Rafael Nadal’s words on X within hours of the crash, written in Spanish for a country already in national mourning. The former world number one framed his post as a direct address to the bereaved rather than any comment on how the disaster had happened.

Nadal, who retired from the ATP tour in 2024, remains one of the most recognisable public figures in Spain, and the note read closer to a national condolence than a sportsman’s reaction.

68 dead between Urda and Los Yébenes

The collision happened shortly before 9am local time on Wednesday, between the villages of Urda and Los Yébenes in Toledo province. A Renfe AVE service running from Madrid to Seville struck the rear of a stopped Iryo train on the same track, CBS News reported, citing the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha for a death toll of at least 68 and 58 people taken to hospital.

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Transport minister Óscar Puente said a signalling fault near Urda had halted six trains, and that the central command centre then cleared the Renfe service to resume at full speed. He called the decision “inexplicable” and said the drivers bore no responsibility.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez travelled to the scene and declared three days of national mourning, telling reporters it was “unacceptable” for Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in a single year. It is the country’s worst rail disaster since the 2013 Santiago de Compostela derailment, in which 80 people were killed.

Spanish sport joins the mourning

Nadal’s post was one of many from Spanish sport. According to hola.com, Lamine Yamal, Pau Gasol, Marc Márquez, Carlos Sainz, Iker Casillas, Marcos Llorente and Marc Cucurella were among the sporting figures who shared tributes on social media on Wednesday.

The Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line remains closed, with more than 100 services disrupted, while the rail controller who cleared the Renfe train has been questioned by investigators.

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