Spain’s transport minister resigns after deadly train crash

Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente has resigned, six days after a horrific train crash killed at least 69 people in Spain. He announced his resignation from the cabinet in a speech to the country's Congress on Tuesday local time.

The accident occurred on the Madrid-Seville railway line near Urda in the province of Toledo on Wednesday. A high-speed AVE train operated by state railway company Renfe collided with a stationary train operated by private company Erio, killing at least 69 people and injuring many more.

After the collision, several carriages of the train fell down a slope and two carriages derailed. There were 147 passengers, including a child, on the Erie train and 397 on the Renfe train.

Announcing his resignation, Oscar Puente said, "In a country like Spain, a transport minister cannot remain in office after two terrible accidents in less than a year."

Oscar explained his decision to resign by citing the incident that killed 46 people in another train accident in the country in January.

Last week's accident is considered one of the worst rail disasters in modern Europe. It is the deadliest rail accident in Spain since 2013, when 80 people were killed and 145 injured in a train crash near Santiago de Compostela.

Spain is scheduled to hold snap general elections on November 29. The train accident and the resignation of the transport minister occurred amid such a political situation.