At least 39 people were killed and about 150 others were injured, 15 of them critically, when two trains collided Sunday evening in southern Spain, authorities said.
The crash occurred near the town of Adamuz, close to Cordoba, after one train derailed and struck an oncoming train, causing both to leave the tracks. Reports said about 300 people were aboard one of the trains at the time.
The crash site
(Video: Reuters)
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A passenger climbs out through a train window shortly after the crash
(Photo: @eleanorinthesky via X/Handout via REUTERS)
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A mangled rail car at the crash site
(Photo: @eleanorinthesky via X/Handout via REUTERS)
Spain’s rail infrastructure operator, Adif, said the accident happened when a train traveling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with a train heading in the opposite direction on the Madrid-to-Huelva line. The second train also derailed as a result of the impact.
The cause of the initial derailment was not immediately known. Adif said the Malaga-to-Madrid train left the tracks just 10 minutes after departing. All rail traffic in the area was suspended following the crash, and at least nine ambulances and other emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene.
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Cancellations and delays on travel schedules in Spain after the accident
(Photo: REUTERS/Ana Beltran )
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE who was aboard the train traveling from Cordoba to Madrid, shared images showing the rear car of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting along the side of the overturned carriage. He said the impact that shook the car felt like an earthquake and that passengers used hammers to break doors and windows to escape.
Adamuz Mayor Rafael Moreno, who was among the first to arrive at the scene with local police, told the newspaper El Pais that he witnessed horrifying scenes, including a body that had been thrown several meters from the crash site. He said it appeared the collision was not head-on, but that one train struck the side of the other.
First published: 07:16, 01.19.26