Cable Theft in Spain Disrupts Prepare Journey for 1000’s, Officers Say

Greater than 10,000 individuals had been left stranded in Spain after cable thefts alongside a prepare route and a technical problem disrupted high-speed rail journey on Sunday and Monday, officers stated.

It was the newest ordeal for Spain, which continues to be reeling from an influence outage final week, one of many worst in current European historical past. The reason for the blackout stays unclear.

Oscar Puente, the transport minister, known as the thefts a “critical act of sabotage” in a social media submit.

Mr. Puente stated that the Spanish nationwide police pressure was investigating thefts at 5 places on the road between Madrid and Seville. He stated these had been partly liable for widespread journey interruptions on Sunday, which is noticed as Mom’s Day in Spain.

It was unclear who had stolen the cables, and why, however Mr. Puente described the episode as a theft of “low-value cable” almost definitely meant to trigger havoc.

“Whoever did it knew what they had been doing as a result of there have been no cameras, and the monetary achieve is completely negligible in contrast with the big injury,” Mr. Puente advised the broadcaster Cadena Ser in Spanish on Monday.