At least 10 killed after two trains collide in Spain, authorities say
A high-speed train slammed into the rear of another that had stopped, derailing two carriages, authorities say.
Two trains have crashed in central Spain, derailing two carriages and killing at least 10 people, authorities said.
The crash occurred early on Wednesday near Urda, in Toledo province, south of Madrid, on a railway line connecting the capital with the southern city of Seville.
Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, told Spanish public broadcaster TVE that at least 10 people were killed and the death toll would “surely rise”.
Padilla said the trains had been travelling in the same direction when one struck the rear of the other, which was stationary, causing two carriages to derail.
The collision involved an AVE high-speed train operated by Spain’s state railway company Renfe, travelling from Madrid to Seville, and another operated by private rail company Iryo.
Padilla said 397 passengers were on the Renfe train and 147 on the Iryo train.
Two carriages of the Iryo train fell down an embankment, according to emergency service sources cited by Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The mayor of nearby Urda, Manuel Galan, told TVE that civil protection authorities had asked the town to prepare a sports pavilion to accommodate those affected.
Firefighters from surrounding towns were deployed alongside three medical helicopters and two mobile intensive care units, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
Madrid’s mayor, Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida, said on X that the capital was also sending emergency medical teams and firefighters to assist with rescue efforts.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X on Wednesday that he was shocked by the incident and remained in contact with Transport Minister Oscar Puente and Castilla-La Mancha’s regional president, Emiliano Garcia-Page, as emergency crews worked at the scene.
Spain’s railway infrastructure operator, ADIF, suspended high-speed rail services between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia, while the Civil Guard sent a specialist disaster investigation team to the site, El Pais reported.
The cause of the collision remained unclear.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X on Wednesday that Italy’s consulate in Madrid was checking whether any Italian nationals were among those affected by the collision and was ready to provide assistance.
The disaster comes nine months after a train derailed and struck an oncoming service in southern Spain, killing 45 people.
The crash near the town of Adamuz was Spain’s deadliest railway accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed.