At least 21 people have been killed after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another oncoming train in southern Spain, pushing the second train off the tracks and down an embankment, authorities have confirmed.
Spain’s Interior Ministry says the crash occurred near Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba, about 360 kilometres south of Madrid, on Sunday evening.
Seventy-five people were hospitalised, with 15 reported to be in a serious condition, according to the head of Andalusia’s regional government, Juanma Moreno. He warned that the death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams continue their search through the wreckage.
“The force of the accident has been very strong. We will likely find more victims,” Moreno said, adding that heavy machinery is being used to remove twisted metal and reach those still trapped.
Video footage circulating on social media shows rescuers pulling passengers from mangled carriages lying on their sides under floodlights. Some passengers were seen climbing through shattered windows, while others were carried away on stretchers.
Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train was among those killed.
There were around 400 passengers aboard the two trains, most of them Spanish nationals travelling to and from Madrid after the weekend. It remains unclear how many tourists were on board, as January is not peak travel season in Spain.
One passenger, Maria San Jose, who was travelling on the Malaga-to-Madrid train that first derailed, told El Pais: “There are many injured. I am still trembling.”
Another passenger on the second train told public broadcaster TVE that people were screaming as luggage fell from overhead racks during the impact.
The Renfe-operated train heading to Huelva was reportedly travelling at about 200 kilometres per hour when it was struck. The speed of the Iryo high-speed train at the time of derailment has not yet been confirmed.
Spain’s Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, said the cause of the crash remains unknown, describing it as “really strange” that a derailment occurred on a straight section of track, which had been renewed in May.
“Tonight is a night of deep pain for our country,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a message on X, adding that the King and Queen were closely following developments.
Rail network operator Adif said the Iryo train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed at around 7:45pm, crashing onto an adjacent track and colliding with the Renfe train travelling from Madrid to Huelva.
Puente said most of the fatalities and serious injuries were in the first two carriages of the Renfe train, which plunged down the railway embankment after impact.
Emergency services say while passengers from the Iryo train were evacuated within hours, the Renfe carriages were severely damaged, with rescuers working through twisted metal and crushed seats.
Cordoba fire chief Paco Carmona told TVE that several people remained trapped in narrow spaces, complicating rescue efforts.
Local authorities set up a reception centre in Adamuz, where residents brought food and blankets to assist stranded passengers as temperatures dropped overnight.
The Iryo train was carrying more than 300 passengers, while around 100 were aboard the Renfe service.
Adif has since suspended all rail services between Madrid and the Andalusia region, while investigations into the cause of the crash continue.