Two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Wednesday, killing at least 64 people and injuring around 80 others, according to bdnews24.com. The Spanish football federation responded by calling off every Copa del Rey match scheduled for this week.
One of the two trains was carrying 147 passengers at the time of the crash, while the other held 397, bdnews24.com reports. The injured are receiving medical treatment.
The collision is the second deadly train accident in Spain in less than a year, according to the same report.
Why it matters
The death toll places the crash among the deadliest rail incidents in Spain in recent memory, and the figure has moved repeatedly since the first reports emerged. Early coverage from Prothom Alo put the confirmed deaths at 30 while warning the number was likely to rise; the BBC's Bengali service later reported 64. The gap between those figures reflects how quickly the situation on the ground has developed through the day.
The decision to halt an entire round of national cup fixtures is a rare step, and it signals how broadly the crash has been felt across Spanish public life. Football is not a marginal concern in Spain, and the federation's move puts the sport's calendar on hold out of respect for the victims rather than for any logistical reason.
What the federation said
According to bdnews24.com, the Spanish football association issued a statement explaining that the postponements were intended as a gesture of solidarity with everyone affected by the accident.
Five La Liga clubs had been due to play first-round ties on Wednesday: Levante, Alaves, Valencia, Celta Vigo and Real Betis. All of those fixtures have been shelved.
Spain's three largest clubs — Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid — were not scheduled to appear in that round, since they enter the competition directly at the round of 32.
Barcelona and Real Madrid each published statements on their club websites expressing deep sorrow over the crash and extending condolences to the families of everyone caught up in it, bdnews24.com reports.
A second tragedy in under a year
The reporting notes that this is the second fatal train accident in Spain within roughly twelve months, a detail that is likely to sharpen questions about rail safety in the country in the days ahead. The source material does not specify where Wednesday's collision took place, which operators were involved, or what caused the two trains to strike each other.
Casualty figures from the scene have been revised upward through the day. Prothom Alo reported 30 dead with expectations of more; the BBC's Bengali live coverage subsequently reported 64. bdnews24.com's account, which also carries the 64 figure, is the basis for the numbers in this report.
What to watch
Attention now turns to the official investigation into how two high-speed services came to collide, and to whether the confirmed death toll stabilises at 64 or continues to climb as rescue and identification work proceeds.
