Spain High-Speed Trains Crash Claims Thirty-Nine Lives
Emergency responders reported 73 people sustained injuries in the wreckage, including 24 in critical condition—among them four children.
The disaster unfolded at 7:45pm local time (6:45pm GMT) Sunday in Adamuz municipality near Cordoba, within Spain's Andalusia region, rail operator Adif confirmed.
A Malaga-to-Madrid train carrying approximately 300 passengers experienced a rear derailment that sent it careening into an oncoming Madrid-to-Huelva service transporting 200 people, Adif reported. The impact caused the second train to also jump the rails.
Emergency crews worked frantically at the scene, evacuating all survivors from the mangled carriages by midnight, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente confirmed. He cautioned that fatalities may climb higher as recovery operations continue searching for victims.
Puente stated investigators have not yet determined what triggered the collision. He characterized the crash as "truly strange" given it occurred on a recently upgraded flat track section renovated last May. Additionally, the initially derailed train was less than four years old, he noted.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered sympathies to bereaved families. "Tonight is one of deep sadness for our country," he posted on X.
Spain operates the European Union's most extensive high-speed rail network for trains exceeding 250kph (155mph), spanning over 3,000km (1,900 miles) of track.
The nation's last major rail catastrophe occurred in 2013, when 80 people perished after a train derailed in north-western Santiago de Compostela.
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