UPDATED at 10:11
Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, said the cause of the deadly high-speed train accident had yet to be established, describing it as “really strange” that a derailment occurred on a straight section of track. Speaking at a press conference at Madrid’s Atocha station, Puente noted that the affected stretch of track had been renewed as recently as May. He added that most of those killed and injured were travelling in the first two carriages of the second train involved in the collision.
Spanish police said on Monday that at least 39 people were killed in the crash, significantly higher than earlier official estimates, and warned that rescue and recovery operations were still ongoing. Emergency services continued to work through the wreckage near Adamuz, in the province of Córdoba, where the Málaga to Madrid Iryo high-speed train derailed before colliding with a Renfe train travelling from Madrid to Huelva.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and terror. A journalist from Spain’s public broadcaster RNE, who was travelling on one of the trains, said the impact felt “like an earthquake.” Passengers used emergency hammers to smash carriage windows in order to escape, he said.
A passenger identified as Carmen wrote on X that she had been on board the Málaga to Madrid train. “Ten minutes after departing [from Córdoba], the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach six behind us. The lights went out,” she said.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit the crash site later today, as the country continues to mourn one of its deadliest rail disasters in recent years. Authorities have not ruled out any possibilities and say a full investigation is under way to determine what caused the derailment on a seemingly straight and recently upgraded section of track.
Earlier:
At least 21 dead and 100 injured in terrible train crash in Spain
A very tragic accident occurred yesterday in Spain as a high-speed train run by the private-company Iryo, traveling from Málaga to Madrid with around 300-317 passengers, derailed and crossed into an adjacent rail before colliding head-on with an incoming Renfe train heading from Madrid to Huelva with around 100-200 passengers. The collision happened near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba (southern Andalusia region).
Spain’s Ministry of Transport has reported that at least 21 people have been killed and up to 100 others injured, but other reports are reporting a higher death toll. Rescue teams are on-site and the operations were intense, also involving heavy machinery to release and open some of the carriages.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that yesterday was a night of profound pain for Spain.
Spain is one of Europe’s front-runners in the use of high-speed trains. The last major accident involving a high-speed train in Spain occurred in 2013 in Santiago de Compostela with up to 79 people killed in the accident.
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