Tear Gas Fired as Police Scatter Protesters Raging Over Spain’s Deadliest Train Crash in Years

Police fired tear gas to scatter protesters outside the Ministry of Transport in Madrid on Wednesday night, October 28, as anger boiled over at a train crash that killed at least 68 people.

X user Pan filmed the protest as it built up and then as police moved in. “Right now! Protest in front of the Ministry of Transport! Where is Óscar Puente,” the filmer wrote in the first post. About 90 minutes later, the filmer wrote: “Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.”

Tension erupted at about 9:30 p.m., when officers fired tear gas, sending people running along Paseo de la Castellana, the ABC newspaper reported. Some protesters tipped over rubbish bins, and some officers carried rubber-bullet guns.

The crowd was demanding the resignation of Transport Minister Óscar Puente after two high-speed trains collided near Urda, Toledo, that morning.