Spanish transport minister resigns days after deadly train crash
Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente has stepped down six days after a high-speed train collision near Madrid killed at least sixty-nine people.
Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente has resigned, six days after a deadly high-speed train crash south of Madrid killed at least sixty-nine people and left dozens injured.
Puente announced his decision in Congress at the end of a lengthy hearing, where he had outlined new rail safety measures and faced tough questions from opposition lawmakers.
He said a transport minister could not remain in office after two accidents of such seriousness in less than a year, pointing also to a derailment in Andalusia in January that killed forty-six people.
The October twenty-eighth crash happened near the town of Urda, when a state-run train carrying close to four hundred passengers ran into the back of a stationary private train. Puente also withdrew his name from the lists for the snap general election due on November twenty-ninth.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.