A high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed at least 64 people and injured more than 100 others on Wednesday, according to regional authorities. The death toll was expected to rise, making it one of Europe’s deadliest railway disasters of the 21st century.
The crash occurred in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain, where one train was left embedded in another. Several carriages lay overturned at the bottom of an embankment amid twisted metal and wreckage, as emergency vehicles rushed to and from the scene.
“We are speaking of approximately 64 (dead), but this is probably going to grow even more,” Castilla-La Mancha regional leader Emiliano García-Page told reporters at the scene, revising an earlier estimate of 31 fatalities.
A regional government spokeswoman said more than 100 people had been injured. Of those, 58 had been taken to hospital, including 15 who were in critical condition.
Helicopters hovered overhead as emergency crews searched for survivors. Several black vans from a funeral service were also seen arriving at the scene.
Spain’s state railway operator, Renfe, confirmed that the main high-speed line connecting Madrid with southern Spain had been suspended following a collision involving one of its services and a train operated by private company Iryo.
Iryo said its train, which was carrying 147 passengers and five staff members, including the driver, had been “hit from behind” by the Renfe service.
Manuel Ortiz, 49, a resident of the nearby village of Urda, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid, told AFP that he had spent the morning transporting survivors in his car.
According to Ortiz, passengers on the Iryo train said their service had been stationary when the collision occurred. He described the scene as “horrific, horrible”, adding that the air smelled of metal.
Railway safety under scrutiny
The latest disaster has intensified scrutiny of Spain’s railway safety record, following another deadly train accident earlier this year.
In January, a collision between two high-speed trains near the southern village of Adamuz killed 46 people, raising serious questions about the safety of the country’s rail network. Both accidents occurred on the line linking Madrid with the southern city of Seville.
The January crash was Spain’s deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after a train derailed on a curved section of track outside Santiago de Compostela in the country’s northwest.
The latest collision occurred on a straight stretch of track in sunny, dry conditions. The cause remained unknown, and investigators were examining the site. AFP journalists saw five people wearing white overalls inspecting the tracks and taking photographs.
Spain has invested heavily in its high-speed rail network over recent decades. The system, now the world’s second-largest after China’s, is a source of national pride and a key component of the country’s transport infrastructure.
The crash has also placed the government under renewed pressure. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who faced criticism following the earlier disaster, was due to visit the scene as his government approached a crucial political period ahead of an early general election scheduled for November 29.
Sánchez said on X that he was “shocked” by the collision and expressed his “love, solidarity and support” for the victims and their families.
Condolences poured in from across Spain and Europe. The Spanish royal household said it was “shocked and concerned”, expressing support for the victims, their loved ones and emergency personnel.
A European Commission spokeswoman said the bloc was ready to assist Spain if necessary, while Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe mourned with the victims following the “devastating news”.
The Spanish football federation also postponed 24 matches in the opening round of the Copa del Rey as a mark of respect and solidarity.
The Madrid–Seville route was Spain’s first high-speed railway line, opening in 1992 to coincide with the Seville Universal Exposition. It remains one of the country’s busiest rail corridors.
With the cause of Wednesday’s collision still undetermined, investigators face the task of establishing how two trains came to collide and whether the findings will prompt further changes to railway safety procedures.
AFP
