Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced Tuesday that he is stepping down from his post after a major high-speed train collision killed 69 people last week.

The deadly crash last Wednesday marked the second major fatal incident in Spain this year, after a January train collision killed 46 people. The cause of that crash is still under investigation.

Puente told Spanish lawmakers that he made his decision to step down immediately following the crash but waited for the right time to make the announcement, according to the Associated Press.

“A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year,” Puente said.

The latest crash occurred when a high-speed train slammed into the back of another train that was stopped on the tracks in central Spain, south of Madrid. The collision derailed two cars.

The crash was the result of a communication failure that began when the communication system key to the functioning of the security system on the Madrid-Seville line went down. Controllers in Madrid gave the go-ahead for a state-operated Renfe high-speed train to proceed, even though there was a stationary train ahead operated by the company Iryo.

Puente has also announced safety measures the government would implement on the rail network in light of the crash, including improving conditions in control centers. Until this year, Spain's high-speed rail system had not experienced a deadly crash since coming into service more than three decades ago.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.