MADRID – A high-speed train derailed, jumping onto the track in the opposite direction and colliding with a train traveling in the opposite direction on Sunday in southern Spain, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens more, the country’s transportation minister said.
The rear end of an overnight train between Malaga and Madrid carrying about 300 passengers left the tracks near Córdoba at 7:45 p.m. local time and collided with a train carrying about 200 passengers traveling from Madrid to Huelva,another city in southern Spain,according to Spanish rail operator Adif.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll to 21 confirmed victims after midnight when he said rescuers had removed all survivors. But Puente warned that there could be more victims yet to be confirmed.
Puente added that the causes of the crash are unknown. he called it a “tremendously strange” incident because it occurred on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May. He stressed that the train that jumped off the track was less than four years old and belonged to the private company Iryo, and the train that was hit was from the Spanish public company Renfe.
Iryo issued a statement that it “deeply regrets what happened” and stated that it was “collaborating closely with the competent authorities to manage the situation.”
According to Puente, the rear of the first train derailed and collided with the front of the other train, sending its first two cars off the track and onto a four-meter (13-foot) slope.He added that the worst damage was in that front section of the Renfe train.
When asked how long an inquiry into the causes of the incident could take, Puente said it could be a month.
Andalusia’s regional health chief, Antonio Sanz, reported that 73 injured passengers were transferred to six different hospitals.Francisco Carmona, Córdoba’s fire chief, told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was seriously destroyed, with at least four cars off the tracks. He stressed that the situation at the crash site is very serious.
Salvador Jiménez, a journalist for Spanish broadcaster RTVE, was aboard one of the derailed trains and told the station by phone that “there was a moment when it looked like an earthquake” when the train derailed.
He added that passengers used emergency hammers to break the windows and that some walked away without serious injuries. Videos from people at the scene show some people climbing out of windows at some points to escape the wreckage with cars tilted at an angle.
The incident occurred at dusk and hundreds of survivors had to be rescued in the dark.
The regional head of Civil Protection, María Belén moya Rojas, told Canal Sur that the crash occurred in an area that is difficult to access.
Locals were bringing blankets and water to the scene to help the victims, he said.
High-speed trains, which run on an extensive national network, are a popular way to travel in Spain.
Spain’s emergency military units joined the deployment of other rescue units. The Red Cross also provided support to health personnel.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following “the terrible news” from Córdoba.
“My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the train accident and to the Spanish people,” he wrote in Spanish. “I wish a rapid and complete recovery to the injured.”
ADIF reported that train services between Madrid and cities in Andalusia will not operate on Monday.
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Naishadham reported from Madrid.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool. A Telemundo Digital editor reviewed the translation.
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