Photo: EFE
Deadly train crash in southern Spain kills at least 39, injures more than 150
Around 400 passengers were on board two trains involved in a deadly collision in southern Spain on Sunday evening.
A high-speed train derailed and crashed into an oncoming train near the town of Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, about 360 kilometers south of Madrid, at around 7:45 p.m. local time. According to Spain’s EFE news agency, at least 39 people were killed and 152 were injured.
Andalusia’s regional president Juanma Moreno told reporters early Monday that 75 people had been hospitalized, including 15 in critical condition. “The force of the crash was extremely strong… we will probably find more bodies,” he said, adding that heavy machinery would be needed to remove the wreckage and search for additional victims.
Videos posted on social media showed rescue workers pulling passengers from twisted train cars under powerful floodlights. Some passengers escaped through broken windows, while others were carried away on stretchers. Most of the passengers were Spanish citizens returning to and from Madrid after the weekend.
The Renfe-operated train heading toward Huelva was traveling at about 200 kilometers per hour at the time of the collision. The speed of the Málaga-Madrid train operated by Adif when it derailed remains unknown.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente said it was “very strange” that the derailment occurred on a straight section of track, noting that the line had been repaired in May.
Most of the victims were in the first two cars of the Renfe train, which derailed after the impact and fell down an embankment. Thirty-seven people were in the first car and sixteen in the second.
More than 200 trains between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia — including services to Córdoba, Seville and Granada — were canceled on Monday. High-speed rail services were expected to remain suspended at least throughout January 19, with the greatest disruption affecting Renfe, the main operator on the route.
