More than 21 people have been killed in an accident involving high-speed trains in the southern part of Spain, as authorities fired a warning that the number of dead persons could become higher.
Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said at least 30 persons are undergoing treatment for serious injuries in hospital.
The incident occurred close to the town of Adamuz, near the city of Cordoba, when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and crossed over onto another track, the rail network operator Adif said.
The derailed train later collided with an oncoming train, travelling from Madrid to Huelva. Andalusian emergency services said no fewer than 73 persons in total were injured in the collision.
The incident appeared to be “extremely strange”, Puente added, because the train derailed on a straight stretch of track, which had been refurbished in May last year.
The official cause is not yet known. An investigation is not expected to determine what happened for at least a month.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country will endure a “night of deep pain”.
Iryo, a private rail company that operated the journey from Malaga, said around 300 passengers were on board the train that first derailed, while the other train – operated by Renfe – had around 100 passengers.
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, was one of the first people on the scene of the accident. He described it as like “a nightmare”.
In a post on X, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía urged any crash survivors to post on social media that they are alive.
The twisted wreckage of the train made it difficult to recover survivors and bodies, rescue crews said.
Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE: “We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work.”
According to Adif, the crash happened about ten minutes after the train left Malaga at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT). The company said it was setting up spaces for relatives of victims at Atocha, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva stations.
All rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended following the accident and will remain close on Monday. The company said it will keep terminals open overnight for impacted passengers.
