Toll In Spain Train Collision Rises To At Least 39 Dead As Rescue Efforts Continue
ADAMUZ, Spain (AP) — At least 39 people died in a high-speed train collision in southern Spain on Sunday and rescue efforts were continuing, Spanish police said Monday.
The collision occurred when the tail end of a train traveling between Malaga and Madrid with about 300 passengers derailed near Cordoba at 19:45, according to rail operator Adif. It crashed into a train heading from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif.
Early in the morning, Andalusia regional leader Juan Moreno said that 75 passengers, 15 of whom were in serious condition, were hospitalized. Most were taken to Cordoba, about 390 kilometers (242 miles) south of Madrid.
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The Spanish Red Cross set up a help center in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, providing assistance to emergency services and people seeking information. Spain’s civil guard and civil defense members worked on the field throughout the night.
Video and photos showed twisted train cars lying on their sides under floodlights. According to Spanish broadcaster RTVE journalist Salvador Jiménez, who was on one of the derailed trains, passengers reported climbing out of broken windows and some using emergency hammers to break the windows.
“There was a moment when it felt like there was an earthquake and the train actually went off the rails,” he told the network by phone.
Authorities Described the Accident as ‘Strange’
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said early Monday that the cause of the crash was unknown.
He described it as a “really strange” incident as it occurred on a flat track that was renovated in May. It was stated that the train that jumped off the rails was less than 4 years old. This train belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second most affected train was part of Spain’s public train company Renfe.
According to Puente, the rear of the first train derailed and hit the head of the other train, sending its first two cars derailing and falling down a 4-meter (13-foot) slope. He said the most damage was in the front section of the Renfe train.
When asked by journalists how long it might take to investigate the cause of the accident, he said it could take a month.
Spain is Europe’s Leader in High Speed Train
According to the European Union, Spain has Europe’s largest high-speed rail network for trains traveling at speeds above 250 km/h (155 mph), with more than 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) of lines.
The network is a popular, competitively priced and safe form of transport. Renfe said that in 2024, more than 25 million passengers will board one of the high-speed trains.
Train services between Madrid and the cities of Andalusia were canceled on Monday.
The worst train accident of this century occurred in Spain 80 people lost their lives in 2013 after a train derailed in the country’s northwest. An investigation concluded that the train was traveling at 179 km/h (111 mph) on a track with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph) when it derailed.
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Naishadham from Madrid. AP journalist Barry Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal.
