A devastating head-on collision between two high-speed trains near Adamuz in southern Spain has claimed at least 39 lives and injured over 150 others, marking the country’s deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.
The incident happened on Sunday evening when an Iryo train from Málaga to Madrid, carrying about 300 passengers, derailed on a straight, recently upgraded track section around 19:45 local time. It veered into the path of an oncoming Renfe service from Madrid to Huelva with roughly 100 aboard, hurling the latter’s front carriages into an embankment.
Emergency services treated 152 people on site, hospitalising 48 including five children, with 12 in intensive care. Adif halted all Madrid-Andalusia rail links through Monday and set up family support at key stations.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the death toll “is not yet final” as a month-long investigation begins. He described the event on well-maintained track as “extremely strange,” noting that railway experts “are extremely baffled by the accident.”
Rescuers struggled with twisted wreckage to free survivors. Córdoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told RTVE, “We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work.”
RTVE journalist Salvador Jimenez, aboard the Iryo train, said, “I was in the first carriage. There was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed.” Passenger José told Canal Sur, “There were people and screaming, calling for doctors.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke of a “night of deep pain.” King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia offered condolences, stating on X, “We extend 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 Spanish Red Cross aided families, with Miguel Ángel Rodríguez telling RNE, “The families are going through a situation of great anxiety due to the lack of information. These are very distressing moments.”
French President Emmanuel Macron added, “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the entire Spanish people. France stands by your side.”
Spain’s network, the world’s second longest after China, recalls the 2013 Galicia crash that killed 80.