By Chinonyerem Emmanuel
MADRID, — A deadly rail disaster struck southern Spain on Sunday evening when two high-speed trains derailed near the town of Adamuz in Córdoba province, leaving at least seven people dead and more than 100 injured, according to Spanish state television RTVE citing police sources.
The crash occurred at approximately 6:40 p.m. local time, just ten minutes after one of the trains departed Córdoba en route to Madrid. Authorities confirmed that at least 25 of the injured are in serious condition, while emergency teams continued working late into the night to evacuate passengers and secure the site.
Spain’s rail infrastructure operator Adif said the Iryo 6189 train traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed first, crashing onto an adjacent track. A second train traveling from Madrid to Huelva was passing on the neighboring track at the time and was also forced off the rails as a result of the collision. Images shared by officials showed carriages twisted and partially overturned along the line.
The Málaga to Madrid train was a Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed service operated by Iryo, a private rail company majority-owned by Italy’s state controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. A spokesperson for the Italian operator confirmed the train model involved but declined further comment as investigations began. Iryo itself did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Following the accident, Adif suspended all rail services between Madrid and the Andalusia region, bringing a major transport corridor to a standstill. Andalusian emergency services announced on social media that all rail traffic in the area had been halted and that a large-scale rescue operation was underway, involving at least nine ambulances and multiple emergency support vehicles.
Passengers described moments of fear and confusion inside the darkened carriages. Carmen, a passenger who said she was traveling on the Iryo train to Madrid, wrote on X that the train began to shake violently shortly after leaving Córdoba. “Ten minutes after departing, the train started to shake a lot, and then it derailed from coach six behind us. The lights went out,” she said.
Video footage shared by another passenger showed an Iryo staff member wearing a fluorescent safety jacket calmly instructing passengers to remain seated in the dark while those with first aid training assisted others. The staffer advised passengers to conserve their mobile phone batteries so they could use their flashlights when it was safe to evacuate.
“In our carriage we’re okay, but we don’t know about the others,” one passenger posted. “There’s smoke, and they’re calling for a doctor.”
The regional government activated emergency response protocols to mobilize additional resources, while local residents reported that a nearby building was being prepared to shelter evacuated passengers overnight.
Among those on board was RTVE journalist Salvador Jiménez, who shared images showing the nose of a rear carriage lying on its side, with passengers seated on the exposed upper surface after escaping.
Speaking by phone to TVE from the scene, Jiménez said passengers had used emergency hammers to break windows and climb out of the overturned cars. He also witnessed at least two people being removed on stretchers.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Jiménez said. “We don’t know when we’ll reach Madrid or where we’ll spend the night. We haven’t received any message from the train company yet. It’s very cold, but here we are.”
Spanish police had not issued an official statement by late Sunday, and the cause of the derailments remains under investigation.
Source: Reuters