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‘Horrific’ scenes as high-speed train collision in Spain leaves at least 39 dead and dozens injured
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‘Horrific’ scenes as high-speed train collision in Spain leaves at least 39 dead and dozens injured

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A high-speed train derailed in southern Spain, jumped onto the tracks in the opposite direction and crashed into an oncoming train, killing at least 39 people and injuring dozens of others.
The tail end of an evening train carrying about 300 passengers from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Cordoba and collided with a train carrying about 200 passengers heading from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, railway company Adif said.
The death toll rose to at least 39, with 152 people injured, state broadcaster RTVE reported, citing Guardia civilian police.
According to RTVE, more than 200 trains between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia – including the major cities of Cordoba, Seville and Granada – were canceled throughout Monday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has cleared his agenda for the day, his office said in a statement on Monday.

Two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers have crashed head-on in southern Spain. Source: AFP / X/@ELEANORINTHESKY

The Spanish Red Cross has set up a response center in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, to assist emergency services and people seeking information.

Members of Spain’s Civil Guard and Civil Protection were also working on site in the cold, cloudless Sunday evening (local time).
Andalusia’s regional president Juanma Moreno said rescuers would work through the night to remove the bodies from the wreckage.

“We have a very difficult night ahead of us,” said Antonio Sanz, head of regional health in Andalusia.

Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the cause of the crash, which occurred at 7:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, was unknown.
He called it “a really strange” incident because it happened on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May.
He also said the train that jumped the tracks was less than four years old. That train belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second train, which bore the brunt of the impact, belonged to the Spanish public railway company Renfe.

Iryo issued a statement saying it “deeply regretted what happened” and was working with authorities to bring the situation under control.

‘Like a horror movie’

Lucas Meriako, who traveled on the first derailed train, told LaSexta 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, to break… there were many people injured by the glass,” he told Agence France-Presse.
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, told EL PAÍS newspaper that he was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident with local police and saw what he thought was a severely torn body a few meters from the accident site.
“The scene is horrible,” he said.
According to Puente, the rear part of the first train derailed and collided with the head of the other train, causing the first two carriages to go off the track and down a four-meter slope. He said the worst damage was to the front part of the Renfe train.

When asked by reporters how long an investigation into the cause of the crash could take, he said it could be a month.

Several killed in train derailment in Cordoba, Spain

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that Spain is experiencing a “night of deep pain” after the train crash. Source: EPA / Salas

Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for Spanish broadcaster RTVE, was on board one of the derailed trains and told the station by telephone that “there was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and that the train had indeed derailed.”

He said passengers used emergency hammers to break windows and some walked away without serious injuries. Videos from the scene show people crawling out of windows to escape the wreckage as the carriages lean at an angle.
The crash occurred in the early evening near the village of Adamuz and hundreds of survivors had to be rescued in the darkness.
Francisco Carmona, Cordoba’s fire chief, told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was badly mangled, with at least four carriages derailed.
Spain’s military emergency response units joined the deployment of other rescue units.
“Tonight is one of deep sadness for our country,” Sánchez wrote on social media platform X. “I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the victims.”
Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also expressed their condolences and concerns on social media.
According to the European Union, Spain has the largest high-speed network in Europe for trains traveling faster than 250 km/h, with more than 3,100 km of track.

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