Sunday's high-speed train crash in southern Spain, the worst in over a decade, has been a devastating tragedy for the country, with the loss of at least 42 lives.

And amid the grief, many are asking what could have caused such a failure on one of Europe's most admired rail systems.

The CIAF rail investigatory commission has started analysing why a train travelling north from Málaga was derailed on a straight section of the route, causing it to collide with an oncoming train, which was also derailed.

The Spanish government has described the accident as "extremely strange".

Three bodies already located in the wreckage were recovered on Tuesday afternoon, and a 42nd victim was also found at the crash site near Adamuz.