Spain train driver did not know of fatal crash that killed 43 people for FOUR MINUTES

Spanish investigators said 43 people had died one of the worst railway accidents in Europe in 80 years, in what President Pedro Sánchez called "a day of sorrow for all of Spain."

Now, newly released audio recordings analysed by investigators showed confusion, with neither the driver of the Malaga-Madrid train nor the control centre realising there had been a crash or even a derailment.

According to a transcript of the audio recording obtained by Spanish national media, the driver had first reported "a snag near Adamuz" to the Atocha control centre in Madrid.

Neither the driver nor control centre operator appeared panicked as they discussed how they should assess the situation.

It was only after climbing out of the cabin walking along the tracks and seeing the damage to the rear carriages that he called for ambulances.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the Alvia train had also stopped, the operator attempted to contact the driver of the Alvia train, who was already dead when the call came through to the cabin.

The operator then spoke to the conductor on the Alvia train, saying he was attempting to contact the train driver, with the conductor responding: "I have a bump on my head. I have blood on my head."

Around four minutes after their first call, the Iryo driver suddenly realised the extent of the disaster.

The driver said: "There’s a derailment and I’m encroaching on the adjacent track … I need you to stop the traffic on the tracks urgently, please.

"I have a fire too. I need you to send, please, emergency services, firefighters and ambulances, because I also have injured people on the train."

Eyewitnesses and passengers described the horror of the scene

Ana Garcia Aranda, 26, who was being treated at a Red Cross centre in Adamuz said: "The train tipped to one side... then everything went dark, and all I heard was screams.

"There were people who were fine and others who were very, very badly injured... you knew they were going to die, and you couldn’t do anything,"

A six-year-old girl was found walking alone along the tracks after her parents, brother and cousin all died in the crash.

The family had gone to see The Lion King musical in Madrid and were returning home to Aljaraque, on the Atlantic coast near Huelva.

Following the tragedy at the weekend, there were a further two derailments just days later, leading to Spain's biggest train drivers' union calling for a nationwide strike

A commuter train derailed on Tuesday after a retaining wall collapsed onto the track during heavy rains near Barcelona, killing the driver and seriously injuring four passengers.

A third derailment of a train on Barcelona's regional network, which left no injuries, was caused by a rock falling on the line during the same storm.

The train drivers union SEMAF said in a statement: "We are going to demand criminal liability from those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure."

SEMAF had previously warned in a letter last August of severe wear and tear to the railway track where the two trains collided, saying potholes, bumps, and imbalances in overhead power lines were causing frequent breakdowns and damaging the trains on several of the network's high-speed lines.

Spain's high-speed railway network is the largest in Europe and second-largest in the world after China with 3,622 km of tracks, according to state-owned rail infrastructure administrator Adif.

Spain opened up the network to private competition in 2020 in a bid to offer low-cost alternatives to Renfe's Ave trains.

Iryo is a joint venture between Italian state railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato, airline Air Nostrum and Spanish infrastructure investment fund Globalvia.