At least 39 people have been killed in a horror train crash in Andalucia.
Around 170 others have been injured – at least 24 seriously – after two high-speed trains derailed near the entrance to Adamuz station in Cordoba on Sunday night.
An Iryo train heading from Malaga to Madrid first derailed at 7.39pm when its rear carriages overturned, for reasons yet unknown.
The cars crossed onto the opposite track, colliding with a Renfe Alvia train that was heading from Madrid to Huelva, according to Adif (Spain’s railway infrastructure manager).
Several sources told El Español that one of the deceased is the Renfe train’s driver.
The Guardia Civil and firefighters worked intensely at the scene overnight to evacuate all passengers and had set up a joint field hospital.
All rail services between Andalucia and Madrid have been suspended until further notice.
Transport minister Oscar Puente said the impact with the Alvia train was ‘terrible’, causing the first two carriages to be thrown into the air.
He said accident is ‘extremely strange’ as it occurred on a straight stretch of track, while the derailed train is ‘relatively new’ and the track ‘was only recently renovated in May.’
‘The experts are baffled, because at this point it’s very difficult to explain the causes,’ the minister said.
Regarding the track, Puente stated that it had been renovated in May with an investment of nearly €700 million.
According to railway sources cited by El Español, the accident site is very difficult to access, and this entrance to the northern part of the Sierra Morena mountain range has nine tunnels and nine viaducts, making the search for victims and survivors complicated.
In a written update at 10.22pm, Puente wrote on X: ‘The latest information coming in is very serious.
‘The last units of the Iryo train heading toward Madrid have derailed, with those cars invading the opposite track where, at that moment, a Renfe train heading toward Huelva was traveling.
‘The impact was terrible, causing the first two units of the Renfe train to be thrown off as a result.
‘The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The fundamental priority now is to assist the victims.’
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with RTVE, was on the train when the incident unfolded.
He told the network: ‘The last carriage is completely overturned. They’re asking if there are any medical personnel on board.
‘That train left Malaga at 6.40pm, bound for Madrid, and as we passed Cordoba station we saw a very sudden movement, a collision.
‘They used hammers to open the doors and evacuate the people. We’re all displaced, but there are still people on the train.’
In September last year, Spain’s transport minister warned that the country’s railways were heading into a turbulent period, with more breakdowns and delays expected over the next two years as brand-new trains enter service alongside ageing rolling stock.
Speaking in Congress, Oscar Puente said the shake-up was a necessary part of modernising the network.
‘We are facing a transition phase in which both new and obsolete trains will be circulating,’ he said.
‘That will inevitably increase incidents in the short term.’
The issue stems from a clash between generations, as Spain’s long-serving trains, many well past their prime, are increasingly prone to mechanical failures.
There is no suggestion at time of reporting that the age of the trains involved contributed to the Cordoba crash.
Dozens of right-wing commentators have seized on the tragedy to call for Puente to resign.
Far-right agitator Vito Quiles branded the incident ‘criminal’, posting on X: ‘There is no justification for the third-worldisation that they have plunged Spain into.’
