Spain's transport minister quits after second deadly high-speed train crash this year

Spain's Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, has announced that he is resigning, after two deadly crashes on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line in less than a year.

He made the announcement on Tuesday while appearing before a standing committee of the Spanish Congress, saying his departure was the right thing for the country and for democracy. He added that he will not be a candidate at the next general election.

The latest disaster happened near Urda, in Toledo province, last week. Sixty-nine people were killed and about 200 injured. Puente told lawmakers that the train's LZB safety system had failed, but the control centre of state rail infrastructure company Adif allowed it to carry on, and it travelled roughly 25km at more than 160km/h before the collision.

In January, a derailment at Adamuz, in Córdoba province, killed 46 people.

Puente had at first refused to quit after the Urda crash, despite calls from critics for him to go.