Closing summary
At least 39 people have been killed and 12 others are in intensive care after two trains collided in southern Spain yesterday evening.
A high-speed Iryo train travelling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near the municipality of Adamuz in Córdoba province at about 7.40pm yesterday, crossing on to the other track where it hit an oncoming train, which was travelling south from Madrid to Huelva.
The impact of the crash pushed the carriages of the second train into an embankment, the Spanish transport minister, Óscar Puente, said, adding that most of those killed and injured had been in the first two carriages of the second train.
The first train to derail was “practically new”, making the accident “extremely strange”, Puente said.
Officials said 122 people were treated for injuries, with 48 still in hospital.
Experts probing the cause of the crash found a broken joint on the rails, a source told the Reuters news agency, which also reported that Spain’s train drivers union had written a letter to state-owned rail infrastructure administrator ADIF last August warning about the railway track where the two trains collided.
An investigation has been launched into the crash but it is not expected to determine the causes for at least a month.
Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, declared three days of mourning starting from midnight tonight and called for Spaniards to unite in grief.
Sunday’s crash was the deadliest train accident since 2013, when a train travelling at 111mph (179km/h) derailed on a stretch of track with a 50mph speed limit in the north-western region of Galicia, killing 80 people.
We are closing this blog now. Thanks for following along. You can read more of the latest developments in regards to the deadly train collision in this story.
The Madrid-Andalucía high-speed line, which was involved in Sunday’s deadly collision, will be closed until at least Friday, according to reports.
