Óscar Puente resigns as Transport Minister after the Urda rail crash

Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation on Tuesday at the end of his appearance before the Standing Committee of the Congress of Deputies, in which he explained the Urda (Toledo) rail crash and the Government's safety measures, according to EITB and Xataka. The appearance lasted more than four hours, according to Xataka.

Puente justified the decision by saying that a minister cannot remain in office after two accidents of this severity in less than a year, referring to the Urda crash, with 69 dead, and the Adamuz (Córdoba) crash in January, with 46, according to those outlets. He described it as "a question of political dignity, of consistency and of empathy with the victims", according to EITB.

According to Xataka, Puente maintained that no decision or omission of his directly contributed to causing the crash, something the investigation has not yet determined. He also said he decided to step down hours after the collision, but waited to learn the first results of the investigation. He is also giving up his place on the PSOE lists for the general election on 29 November.

Hours earlier, the Government had said that Puente would neither resign nor be dismissed, according to Xataka. The outlets consulted do not say who will take over the Transport portfolio or whether the Prime Minister has already accepted the resignation.