At least 39 people were killed and more than 120 injured when a high-speed train in southern Spain derailed and was hit by another. Sunday night's accident on Europe's largest high-speed rail network has surprised experts, because it occurred with a relatively new train on a straight piece of track.
Spain on Monday reeled from a collision between two high-speed trains in the southern region of Andalusia that killed 39 people and injured more than 120, with the prime minister lamenting a "night of deep pain".
The disaster struck on Sunday evening when a service run by the company Iryo travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track where it crashed into an oncoming train, which also derailed, Spain's Adif rail network operator posted on X.
Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente said at least 39 people died, warning this toll was "not definitive" and could still rise.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude for the tremendous work of the rescue teams throughout the night, under very difficult circumstances," he added on X.
Around 123 other people were injured, including five very seriously and 24 seriously, the interior ministry said.
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This was the deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.
Unlike the 2013 accident, Sunday's derailment took place on a straight part of the track which had been completely renovated, Puente told reporters.
The first train to derail was "practically new", making the accident "extremely strange" and "very difficult to explain", he said.
Rail experts "are very surprised by this accident", he added.
Passengers trapped in the wreckage
Train operator Iryo said the locomotive was built in 2022 and last inspected on 15 January, adding it "veered onto the adjacent track for still unknown reasons".
The company said around 300 people were on board its service from the Andalucian city of Malaga to the capital, Madrid.
Renfe, the operator of the second train, has not said how many passengers were on the service, which was travelling to the southern city of Huelva.
Emergency services said they struggled to free the hundreds of passengers trapped in the wreckage.
"The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside," Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba, told public broadcaster RTVE.
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"We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work," he added.
High-speed services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva would be suspended for the entirety of Monday at least, Adif announced.
Adif said spaces had been set up at stations in Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva to assist the relatives of victims.
The defence ministry said it was sending around 40 members of its emergencies military unit and some 15 vehicles to the site of the accident.
'Everything went dark'
A passenger on the second train who gave only her first name, Montse, told Spanish public television the train, jolted, "came to a complete stop and everything went dark".
She described being thrown around in the carriage at the back end of the train and seeing luggage tumble onto other passengers.
"The attendant behind me hit her head and was bleeding. There were children crying," she added.
"Luckily, I was in the last car. I feel like I was given a second chance at life."
Survivor Lucas Meriako, who was travelling on the Iryo train, told La Sexta television: "This looks like a horror movie."
"We felt a very strong hit from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse... There were many injured due to the glass," he said.
Heartfelt condolences
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was to visit the site of the disaster later on Monday, his office said.
"Today is a night of deep pain for our country owing to the tragic rail accident in Adamuz," he wrote on X on Sunday night, adding: "No words can alleviate such great suffering."
The royal palace said on X that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were following the news "with great concern".
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The monarchs offered "our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured", the palace said.
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among the world leaders offering condolences.
Spain has Europe's largest high-speed rail network, with more than 3,000 kilometres of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Malaga.
(with AFP)
