Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, police sources say 21 people killed
MADRID, Jan 18 (Reuters) – A high-speed train derailed and crashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday. According to information provided by police sources to Reuters, the second train derailed in the collision in which at least 21 people died.
The accident occurred near Adamuz, Cordoba province. So far, 21 people have been confirmed dead by police, while state broadcaster Television Espanola added that 100 people were injured, 25 of them seriously. The TV channel added that among the dead was the driver of one of the trains going from Madrid to Huelva.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga – (Madrid-bound) train derailed at Adamuz and hit the adjacent tracks. The train traveling on the adjacent track to (Madrid) – Huelva also derailed,” Adif, which operates the rail network, said in a social media post.
Adif said the accident occurred at 18:40 (1740 GMT), about 10 minutes after the Iryo train departed from Cordoba for Madrid.
Iryo is a private railway operator majority owned by the Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. A Ferrovie dello Stato spokesman said the train in question was the Freccia 1000 train traveling between Malaga and Madrid.
The company said in a statement that it was deeply saddened by what happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities to manage the situation.
The second train was operated by Renfe, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Adif suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.
SCARY SCENE
While the Iryo train had more than 300 passengers, the Renfe train had around 100 passengers.
Cordoba fire chief Paco Carmona told TVE that the first train from Malaga to Madrid was evacuated.
He said the carriages of the other train were badly damaged due to twisted metal and seats. “There are still people trapped. We don’t know how many people have died, and the operation is focused on getting people out of very tight spaces,” he said. “We have to dig up the bodies to get to someone who’s still alive. That’s proving to be a complicated job.”
Minister of Transport Oscar Puente said that he was following the events from the headquarters of railway operator Adif in Madrid.
“The latest information is very serious,” he said in X. “The collision was terrible, causing the first two carriages of the Renfe train to derail. The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The most important thing now is to help the victims.”
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, told El Pais newspaper that he was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the crash, along with local police, and saw a body, which he believed to be heavily mutilated, a few meters away from the crash site.
“The view is terrible,” he said. “I don’t think they’re on the same path, but it’s not clear. Mayors and residents are now focused on helping travelers.”
CALLS FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
Images on local television showed a welcome center set up for travelers in the town of Adamuz, population 5,000; locals came and went with food and blankets, with the night temperature hovering around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius).
A woman named Carmen shared that she was on the Iryo train to Madrid in X. “Ten minutes after leaving Cordoba, the train started shaking too much and derailed from car number 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Footage, also broadcast by another Iryo train passenger on channel X, showed an Iryo officer in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in darkened carriages, and that those with first aid training should keep an eye on other passengers. He also urged people to preserve their cell phone batteries so they can use their flashlights when they disembark.
RTVE journalist Salvador Jimenez, who was on the Iryo train, shared images showing that the nose of the rear carriage of the train was tilted sideways and the evacuated passengers were sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.
Jimenez told TVE by phone that from the side of the stricken trains, they saw passengers using emergency hammers to break the windows and get out, and two people being taken off the overturned carriages on stretchers.
“There is a certain uncertainty about when we will arrive in Madrid, where we will spend the night, we have not received a message from the train company yet,” he said. “It’s very cold, but here we are.”
(Reporting by Graham Keeley and Aislinn Laing; Additional reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Nia Williams)
