Death toll rises to 39 after high-speed train crash in Spain
The death toll following a high-speed train crash in southern Spain has risen to at least 39, state broadcaster RTVE reported on Monday, citing the Guardia Civil police force.
One of the train’s drivers was killed, authorities said.
A total of 73 people were treated at hospitals following the collision, including 24 who were seriously injured, RTVE said. Four of those seriously hurt are minors, according to the broadcaster.
Numerous passengers remained trapped in the trains hours after the crash. Fire chief Paco Carmona described a difficult operation: “It is a hard-to-reach area. The extent of the destruction was also great. Chaos, open fractures. Anything but pleasant.”
The two high-speed trains collided at around 7:40 pm on Sunday near the town of Adamuz in the Andalusian province of Córdoba, Spanish rail operator Renfe said.
An Iryo train, travelling at 300 kilometres per hour and carrying more than 300 people, derailed and came to rest on the adjacent track, Renfe said. An oncoming Renfe train with about 200 onboard was passing at that precise moment, smashing into the Iryo train and also derailing.
The Iryo train was operated by the Italian company Trenitalia.
“The impact was so severe that the two front carriages of the Renfe train were thrown off the tracks as a result,” said Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente.
The carriages plunged down a 4-metre embankment and were largely destroyed.
Service on the key route between Madrid and Andalusia was suspended.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised swift assistance. “Today is a night of deep pain for our country,” he wrote on the platform X.
Alongside the royal household in Madrid and many others, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also expressed her condolences to the families of the victims as well as the Spanish people.
