A collision between two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers in southern Spain killed at least 21 people and injured more than 70 on Sunday, the emergency services said.
The disaster struck when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track where it hit an oncoming train, which also derailed, Spain’s Adif rail body posted on X.
A police spokesman initially told AFP there were five dead after the accident in the province of Cordoba, but soon after updated the toll to 21.
Antonio Sanz, the top emergencies official in the southern region of Andalusia, told a press conference that at least 73 people had been injured.
Spanish media said the number could reach 100 with passengers trapped in the carriages.
“The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside,” Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba, told public broadcaster RTVE.
“We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work,” he added.
One witness told RTVE that one of the carriages of the first train had completely overturned. Television images showed medical crews and fire services at the scene.
A journalist from public broadcaster RNE who was travelling on one of the trains said the impact had felt like “an earthquake”.
Passengers had used emergency hammers to break carriages windows and get out, he said.
– ‘A horror movie’ –
Lucas Meriako, who was travelling on the first train that derailed, told La Sexta television that “this looks like a horror movie”.
“We felt a very strong hit from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse, break… there were many injured due to the glass,” he said.
Spanish media reports suggested that a total of 400 people were on the two trains.
High-speed services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva would be suspended for the entirety of Monday at least, Adif announced.
Adif said spaces had been set up at stations in Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva to assist the relatives of victims.
The royal palace said on X that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were following the news “with great concern”, offering “our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured”.
Spain boasts Europe’s largest high-speed rail network, with more than 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, and Malaga.
