Two high-speed trains collide in Spain, at least 39 dead
What's the story
At least 39 people are feared dead and many injured after two high-speed trains collided in Toledo province, central Spain, on Wednesday morning, local authorities told Sky News. Spain's state rail infrastructure authority said services between Madrid and the southern region of Andalucía had been suspended "following a rear-end collision between two trains." A spokesperson for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha region said the cause and number of injuries are still unknown.
Crash aftermath
Crash derailed 2 carriages
According to Spain's state broadcaster, TVE, the crash happened after one of the high-speed trains ran into the back of another service, knocking two carriages off the track.
Rail operator Adif said the incident involved a Renfe and an Iryo high-speed train travelling from Madrid to Seville.
The mayor of the nearby town of Urda, Manuel Galan, told TVE he had been asked by emergency services to prepare a sports hall to accommodate the injured.
PM
Emergency services are working on the ground: PM
Describing the crash as a "serious" incident, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he remains in constant contact with the Minister of Transport and with the president of Castilla-La Mancha.
"Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families," he said.
Details
Over 500 passengers together
Esther Padilla, the spokesperson of the regional government Castilla and La Mancha, said one train was carrying 146 passengers and an infant, while the other carried 397 passengers.
Images shared on X show carriages on their side in a ditch.
A survivor, Jesus Jeronimo, 54, told El Pais, "We thought we had derailed. Then, little by little, we got out and saw that our train was tilted. There were many injured people and a lot of people shaken up."
Crash
Crash in January killed 46
The collision comes less than a year after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators on the same line that killed 46 people.
In that incident, a train derailed and collided with another near Adamuz in Cordoba province.
Government sources told El País that Wednesday's crash could be worse than the Adamuz rail disaster in January.