At least 68 people were killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing Spanish authorities. The crash, the country’s second deadly railway accident this year, disrupted rail services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia. Rescue workers are searching the wreckage for more bodies.
Evacuated passengers were seen walking along a road near the crash site, some covered in blood or with bandaged wounds, while others carried their suitcases. Volunteers distributed water donated by neighbouring towns as emergency services continued rescue operations, as per Spanish media ABC.
Hundreds of ambulances, funeral home vans and helicopters were deployed near the site. Several carriages of one train remained on an elevated section of track, while twisted metal, broken panels and other wreckage lay scattered across an embankment below. At least three carriages had plunged down the embankment.
Deep Dive
How did the two high-speed trains collide in Spain?
What caused the Spain high-speed train collision?
Which rail services were suspended after the train crash in Spain?
Miguel, a passenger travelling with several colleagues in the rear carriage of one of the trains, described the moment of the collision to Spanish radio station COPE.
“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train,” he said, as per Reuters.
{{/usCountry}}“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train,” he said, as per Reuters.
{{/usCountry}}How the trains collided
According to a person briefed on the incident, a train operated by private rail consortium Iryo had stopped near Toledo on the instructions of Spain's rail infrastructure manager, Adif, because of a signal fault, as per AP.
A train operated by state-owned rail company Renfe subsequently struck the stationary Iryo train at high speed, causing several carriages of both trains to derail, the person said.
Renfe said its train had been authorised to continue its journey before it collided with the Iryo service, which had remained stationary “for reasons we don't know”.
“The Renfe train continued on its way as instructed, and a collision occurred. The exact sequence of events, the traffic conditions and the circumstances of the impact will have to be established by the investigation,” the company said in a statement.
The Associated Press, citing local media reports, said the two trains were travelling in the same direction when one struck the rear of the other, knocking two carriages off the tracks.
Spain suspends high-speed rail services
Adif announced the suspension of services on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line following the collision. “Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line has been suspended following a rear-end collision between two trains,” the infrastructure operator said in a post on X.
The disruption affected rail connections between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia as emergency teams worked at the crash site.
Manuel Galán, mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told Spanish state broadcaster TVE that several passengers had been injured. He said civil protection authorities had asked the town council to prepare a sports pavilion to accommodate passengers affected by the accident.
Jesús Pérez, mayor of the neighbouring village of Los Yébenes, also told TVE that the crash appeared to be serious. Meanwhile, Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page said in a post on X that he was heading to the crash site.
Emergency services deployed
Madrid City Council deployed around 100 personnel to assist with the emergency response, according to local media reports. The deployment included seven fire service vehicles, 16 ambulances and specialist rescue teams. Two psychologists from Madrid's emergency service, SAMUR-PC, were also providing support at a crisis room at Atocha railway station.
Rescue workers continued searching the wreckage for victims as emergency services assisted survivors and assessed the damage. Rail operations on the affected route remained suspended.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)