At least 10 passengers have been killed and several others injured after two high-speed trains collided in Spain, forcing the suspension of rail services between Madrid and the southern Andalusia region, operator Adif said on Wednesday.
Esther Padilla, a spokesperson for Castilla-La Mancha, said officials could confirm 10 fatalities but warned that the toll was expected to rise. “That number will surely rise,” she said, adding that “the situation is going to worsen.”
However, the death toll is feared to be significantly higher. Regional emergency coordinators are reportedly indicating that more than 40 people may have died.
A senior government source told the Spanish press: “It could be worse than Adamuz.” A rail disaster in Adamuz, southern Spain, killed 46 people earlier this year.
El Mundo reported that the exact circumstances of the crash remained unclear, although sources said an Iryo train was travelling from Madrid towards Seville.
A Renfe train, operated by Spain’s state-owned railway company, was also heading towards Seville when it approached from behind and collided with the Iryo service.
Train drivers’ unions described the incident as “very strange,” given the circumstances and the signaling systems in place along the route.
About 544 passengers are believed to have been travelling aboard the two trains involved in the high-speed rail collision.
At least 10 passengers have died and multiple have been injured after two high-speed trains collided in Spain
Emergency services attend to victims at the scene of the train collision
A photograph from the scene shows the severe destruction inflicted on one of the carriages
Most of the victims are believed to have been travelling in two Iryo carriages that plunged down an embankment after the crash.
One of the carriages caught fire, with smoke still rising from the twisted wreckage as the first emergency responders arrived at the scene.
A survivor on the AVE train, identified only as Jesus, told a Spanish radio station: “I saw a boy with an amputated arm walking away from the wreckage.”
Another passenger told local media that the carriage was “completely wrecked” in the moments following the collision.
“The impact was tremendous. The carriage was completely destroyed. A man fell on top of me, but we were able to help him. There were people with bruises,” he said.
“It was a very dramatic scene. I know there are injured people from what I can see. One of the first helicopters arrived, and I counted three Civil Guard cars,” he added.
The female driver of the Iryo train was reportedly safe. However, the driver of the other AVE train and a trainee travelling with him were unaccounted for and feared to be among the casualties.
Adif said in a message posted on X: “Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line has been suspended following a rear-end collision between two trains.”
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The rail operator said the crash occurred between the towns of Mora and Orgaz and involved a Renfe train and an Iryo high-speed service travelling from Madrid to Seville at around 9am local time.
Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda near the central city of Toledo, said he had been asked by emergency services to prepare a sports hall to accommodate the injured.
Minister Antonio Sanz Cabello added: ‘We have sent mobile ICUs and a logistics support vehicle from the Andalusian Health Service to support care for those affected.’
The Minister of Health, Mónica García said her department is ‘mobilizing all the resources at our disposal’ in responce to the crash.
She added: ‘I am also working with the government of Castilla-La Mancha to make available all the resources they may need.’
And the The Madrid Community Blood Transfusion Centre has made an ‘urgent appeal for blood donations.’
Around 400 people are believed to have been travelling in the two trains that crashed
A passenger on one of the trains told local media that the carriage was ‘completely wrecked’ moments after the crash
Rail operator Adif said the incident occurred between the towns of Mora and Orgaz
Smoke was still coming from the wrangled wreckage of what was left of the carriage as the first emergency responders reached the scene.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez offered his ‘affection, solidarity and support to all the victims’ of the train crash.
In a post on X, the leader said he was ‘shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo’.
‘I remain in constant contact with the minister of transport and with the president of Castilla-La Mancha,’ he said.
‘Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations.’
According to El Pais, desperate family members are waiting at Atocha – Madrid’s main train station – for information on their relatives who were traveling on the affected trains.
Carlos Larquin’s aunt was traveling alone on one of the trains. Speaking to the paper, he said: ‘I don’t know if she’s alive or injured because she’s not answering her phone. I have her ticket. I’m trying to talk to Iryo to see if they can tell me which carriage was affected. I’m trying to contact her, but nothing.’
In January, 45 people died in southern Spain when a train jumped the track and hit an oncoming train.
The crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people. The January incident shook the confidence the European country has in its extensive high-speed rail network.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
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