This video, taken from UGC footage posted on social media and verified by AFPTV teams in Madrid, shows emergency workers at work after a train crash in Adamuz, southern Spain.
- A train crash in Spain killed 21 people and injured more than 70.
- The accident happened on the line from Malaga to Madrid.
- Thirty people were taken to hospital in serious condition.
Spain reeled Monday after a collision between two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia that killed 21 people and injured more than 70. The Prime Minister complained of a “night of deep pain”.
The disaster struck on Sunday evening when a train traveling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz and crossed the other track, where it collided with an oncoming train, which also derailed, Spanish rail network operator Adif reported on X.
A police spokesman told AFP that 21 people had been killed.
Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s top emergency official, told a news conference that at least 73 people had been injured.
“The situation is likely to lead to an increase in the death toll,” he said, adding that “a very complicated night awaits us.”
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Transport Minister Oscar Puente told reporters that 30 people were rushed to hospital in serious condition, adding that all the injured had been evacuated to receive care.
The disaster occurred on a straight stretch of track that was being completely renovated, Puente said, adding that the first derailed train was “virtually new,” making the accident “extremely strange.”
The LD AV Iryo train 6189 Málaga – Pta de Atocha derailed at the Adamuz track 1 bypasses and entered the adjacent track. Train LD AV 2384 Pta was running on the adjacent track. from Atocha – Huelva, which also derailed.
— INFOAdif (@InfoAdif) January 18, 2026
Rail operator Iryo said there were around 300 people on board the Malaga-Madrid service.
The hundreds of passengers left in the wreck hampered the hectic work of the emergency services.
“The problem is that the wagons have been twisted, twisting the metal with the people inside,” Francisco Carmona, head of the fire brigade in Cordoba, told public broadcaster RTVE.
“We even had to remove a dead person to reach someone alive. It is hard and difficult work,” he added.
Some carriages had fallen from a four-metre embankment, Sanz said at his press conference.
Relatives of the passengers of the train from Puerta de Atocha to Huelva come to the Huelva train station.
Clara Carrasco via Getty Images
A passenger on the second train bound for the city of Huelva, who gave only her first name Montse, told Spanish public television that the train “jolted to a complete stop and everything went dark.”
She described being tossed around in the last carriage and seeing luggage fall onto other passengers.
“The attendant behind me hit her head and bled. There were children crying,” she added.
“Luckily I was in the last car. I feel like I got a second chance at life.”
OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
This afternoon a derailment occurred on service 6189, which operated the Malaga-Madrid route.
The service had left Malaga at 6.40 pm. and at the time of the event approximately 300 people were traveling.
that lament deep… pic.twitter.com/XF71Aj50hc
— iryo.eu (@iryo_eu) January 18, 2026
Survivor Lucas Meriako, who traveled on the first derailed train, told La Sexta television that “this looks like a horror movie.”
“We felt a very strong blow from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse, break… there were many injured people because of the glass,” he said.
High-speed services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva would be suspended for at least the entire Monday, Adif announced.
Adif said spaces had been set up at stations in Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva to help the victims’ relatives.
The Defense Ministry said it was sending about 40 members of its military emergency unit and about 15 vehicles to the scene of the accident.
“Today is a night of deep pain for our country due to the tragic train accident in Adamuz,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X.
“No words can alleviate such great suffering, but I want them to know that the entire country is by their side in this difficult moment,” he added.
Today is a night of deep pain for our country due to the tragic train accident in Adamuz.
I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.
No words can alleviate such great suffering, but I want you to know that…
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 18, 2026
The royal palace said on
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen were among world leaders to express their condolences.
Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe, with more than 3,000 km of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Malaga.
In 2013, a high-speed train derailment outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela killed 80 people and injured more than 140 – Spain’s deadliest tragedy since 1944.
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