High-speed trains collide in Spain, killing at least 40
Andalusia’s regional emergency services said 41 people remained hospitalized, 12 of whom were in intensive care units. Another 81 passengers were discharged late Monday.
Authorities believe it could take weeks to unravel how a collision between two trains occurred on the revamped spur track between Malaga and Madrid in May. Spain has the largest high-speed railway network in Europe, with trains reaching speeds of over 250 km per hour.
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente described it as a “truly strange” incident that could take a month to resolve.
He said that the rear carriages of a train bound for Madrid, with about 300 people on board, derailed at around 7.45pm on Sunday (Spanish time) and crashed into an oncoming train bound for Huevla, with 200 people on board. The train bound for Madrid was four years old and was operated by the private company Iryo, while the other train was operated by the public company Renfe.
Due to the impact of the collision, the first two wagons of the Renfe train derailed and rolled downhill. Puente said the most damage was at the front of the train.
Renfe president Álvaro Fernández told Spanish public radio RNE that both trains were well below the 250 km/h speed limit. One was traveling at 205 km/h, the other at 210 km/h. He also said that “human error can be ruled out.”
Railway operator Renfe stated that the cause of the accident was not human error.Credit: access point
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning for the victims.Credit: access point
According to Reuters, experts examining the crash site found a broken joint in the rails; This created a widening gap between railway sections as trains continued to move on the track.
This faulty connection could be important in determining the cause of the accident, the source said.
Mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, said: El País The newspaper said he was one of the first to arrive at the scene with police and saw what he believed to be a badly mutilated body a few meters from the crash site. “The view is terrible,” he said.
Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spanish national radio that one of the trains was badly crushed. Social media images showed part of a train tilted as emergency workers tried to rescue passengers through broken windows.
In a statement to Spanish national television, Carmona said rescue teams were focusing on finding survivors and evacuating people from narrow spaces in the rubble. “We have to dig up the bodies to get to someone who’s still alive. That’s proving to be a complicated job.”
Survivors were removed from the train by midnight, Puente said.
Regional Civil Protection chief Maria Belen Moya Rojas told Canal Sur television channel that the accident occurred in a hard-to-reach area and local people took blankets and water to the scene to help the victims. Spain’s military emergency units joined other rescue units at the scene and the Red Cross provided support to paramedics.
A woman named Carmen shared that she was on the Iryo train to Madrid in X. “Ten minutes after we left [from Cordoba]The train started shaking a lot and derailed from car number 6 behind us. The lights are out.”
Social media footage posted by another Iryo passenger showed a staff member in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to stay in their seats in dark carriages, and those with first aid training were required to keep an eye on other passengers. He also urged people to preserve their cellphone batteries so they can use their flashlights when disembarking.
Iryo released a statement saying he was “deeply saddened by what happened” and was working with authorities to manage the situation. Renfe did not respond to a request for comment.
Australian authorities were investigating with local authorities to determine whether any Australians were affected.
Passengers are waiting for updates in Madrid as services have been suspended following the collision.Credit: access point
Iryo is majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. A Ferrovie dello Stato spokesman said the train involved in the incident was the Freccia 1000 train.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote to X: “Tonight is a deep sadness for our country.” “I would like to express my sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.”
Spain’s King Felipe VI said he and Queen Letizia were monitoring the situation with “great concern.”
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“We express our sincerest condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the deceased, and we also wish love and a speedy recovery to the injured,” the royal palace said in a statement on social media.
RTVE broadcaster 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.
Reuters, AP
