42 killed and Over 100 injured in Spain train collision
At least 42 dead and over 100 injured after a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with another high-speed train coming from the opposite direction in southern Spain, around 360 km south of Madrid at around 6.40 PM local time on Sunday. Over 300 passengers were onboard. The two high-speed trains, one operated by the private consortium Iryo and the other by Alvia, run by Spain's public railway company Renfe.
The Spanish high-speed rail network, which is the largest in Europe and most extensive in the world after China, is often seen as the model by other countries. Accidents on the high-speed lines are extremely rare.
This accident marks the worst train accident in the country since 2013, when a high-speed train from Madrid to Ferrol derailed on a bend close to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, resulting in about 80 deaths and 145 injuries, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in Spain. The official probe found the train was traveling more than twice the speed limit entering the bend.
Local villagers from Adamuz were among the first on the scene, carrying blankets and water through the darkness as temperatures dropped to 6°C. Ana García Aranda, 26, traveling with her sister and dog, told Reuters she stood up thinking “this isn’t normal,” and then “everything went dark” as others broke windows to pull her from the wreckage. Another passenger told she was “thrown” and opened a door “with my head,” briefly losing consciousness before walking toward firefighters’ lights.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Transport Minister Oscar Puente were among officials who visited the crash scene on Monday morning and expressed grief for the deceased and gratitude for the rescue workers, and ordered a detailed investigation as the accident occurred on the straight and newly maintained track. PM also announced a 3-day mourning period for the entire nation.
Investigators are currently focusing on a broken section of track discovered at the site. "We have to determine if that is a cause or a consequence," Puente told a Spanish radio, cautioning that a definitive conclusion could take weeks. The Iryo train involved was manufactured in 2022 and had passed a safety inspection just days prior, deepening the mystery of the mechanical or structural failure.
42 killed and Over 100 injured in Spain train collision
At least 42 dead and over 100 injured after a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and collided with another high-speed train coming from the opposite direction in southern Spain, around 360 km south of Madrid at around 6.40 PM local time on Sunday. Over 300 passengers were onboard. The two high-speed trains, one operated by the private consortium Iryo and the other by Alvia, run by Spain's public railway company Renfe.
The Spanish high-speed rail network, which is the largest in Europe and most extensive in the world after China, is often seen as the model by other countries. Accidents on the high-speed lines are extremely rare.
This accident marks the worst train accident in the country since 2013, when a high-speed train from Madrid to Ferrol derailed on a bend close to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, resulting in about 80 deaths and 145 injuries, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in Spain. The official probe found the train was traveling more than twice the speed limit entering the bend.
Local villagers from Adamuz were among the first on the scene, carrying blankets and water through the darkness as temperatures dropped to 6°C. Ana García Aranda, 26, traveling with her sister and dog, told Reuters she stood up thinking “this isn’t normal,” and then “everything went dark” as others broke windows to pull her from the wreckage. Another passenger told she was “thrown” and opened a door “with my head,” briefly losing consciousness before walking toward firefighters’ lights.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Transport Minister Oscar Puente were among officials who visited the crash scene on Monday morning and expressed grief for the deceased and gratitude for the rescue workers, and ordered a detailed investigation as the accident occurred on the straight and newly maintained track. PM also announced a 3-day mourning period for the entire nation.
Investigators are currently focusing on a broken section of track discovered at the site. "We have to determine if that is a cause or a consequence," Puente told a Spanish radio, cautioning that a definitive conclusion could take weeks. The Iryo train involved was manufactured in 2022 and had passed a safety inspection just days prior, deepening the mystery of the mechanical or structural failure.
