A devastating high-speed train collision in southern Spain has left at least 39 people dead and dozens more injured, marking the country's worst rail disaster in over a decade. The crash occurred on Sunday night near the town of Adamuz in Córdoba province, plunging the nation into what Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as a "night of deep pain".
The Moment of Impact and Chaotic Aftermath
The tragedy unfolded just before 8pm local time when a northbound Iryo train, carrying 289 passengers and crew from Málaga to Madrid, derailed. Officials believe parts of this train then collided with a southbound Renfe service travelling from Madrid to Huelva with nearly 200 people on board.
Spain's Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, stated the impact was so severe it sent the first two carriages of the southbound train plummeting down a 4-metre slope. "If a train hadn't been coming in the opposite direction, we likely would not be talking about any victims at all," he remarked, highlighting the catastrophic nature of the secondary collision.
Passenger accounts paint a picture of sudden chaos. María Vidal, 32, on the Madrid-bound train, said the collision felt "like an earthquake." "Everything shook, then suddenly the train slammed on the brakes and the lights went out," she told El País. Another passenger described a scene where suitcases flew and the situation outside the carriages was "catastrophic."
Rescue Operations and Mounting Casualties
Emergency services faced significant challenges reaching the remote crash site, accessible only by a single-track road. By Monday morning, the confirmed death toll stood at 39, with around four dozen people hospitalised, 12 of whom were in intensive care. Spanish media reported the driver of the Renfe train was among those killed.
Juanma Moreno, head of the Andalusian government, revealed the sheer violence of the crash, noting, "The impact was so incredibly violent that we have found bodies hundreds of metres away, which means that people were thrown through the windows." Authorities have established offices for families to report missing loved ones and provide DNA samples to aid identification.
Investigating the Cause of a 'Truly Strange' Accident
The cause of the initial derailment remains unknown, with Minister Puente calling the accident "truly strange." It occurred on a straight section of track that was renovated in May, and the involved Iryo train was less than four years old and had been inspected just four days prior.
Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, has ruled out excessive speed as a primary factor. He confirmed the crash happened on a stretch with a 250km/h limit, with the trains travelling at 205km/h and 110km/h respectively. This incident is Spain's deadliest since 2013, when 80 people died in a derailment in the north-west caused by speeding.
Spain boasts Europe's largest high-speed rail network, spanning almost 4,000km, and it is widely regarded as a safe and popular mode of transport. The network was opened to private competition in 2020, with Iryo—a joint venture involving Italy's state railway and others—beginning operations in late 2022. The investigation into this tragedy will now scrutinise every element to prevent a future recurrence.
