At least 39 people have been killed and 152 others injured after two high-speed trains collided near the town of Adamuz in Spain's southern Córdoba province on Sunday evening. The collision, which occurred around 7:40 PM local time, has become Spain's deadliest rail disaster this century, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to declare three days of national mourning and cancel his planned trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The accident unfolded when a train operated by private company Iryo, traveling from Málaga to Madrid with approximately 300 passengers at 110 kilometers per hour, derailed and encroached onto an adjacent track. Within 20 seconds of the derailment, the train struck an oncoming Renfe train carrying around 200 passengers from Madrid to Huelva at 200 kilometers per hour, leaving no time for emergency braking. The driver of the second train was among the fatalities.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the circumstances as extremely unusual, noting that the accident occurred on a straight stretch of track that had been recently renovated as part of a 700 million euro investment project completed in May. The minister stated that all railway experts consulted were baffled by the incident, and investigators revealed that a wheel from the Iryo train had been lost and has not yet been located. Human error has been practically ruled out, according to Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia.
The impact was devastating, with the back section of the first train crashing into the front of the second, knocking its first two carriages off the track and down a four-meter slope. Five of the 152 injured passengers remain in critical condition as rescue operations continue. Emergency services worked through the night, and cranes have begun removing the damaged carriages as authorities warn the death toll may rise.
Prime Minister Sánchez visited the crash site on Monday and vowed complete transparency in the investigation. He stated that once the cause of the tragedy is determined, it will be presented to the public without reservation. Rail traffic between Madrid and several Andalusian cities including Seville, Málaga, Córdoba, and Huelva has been suspended, with operator Renfe canceling more than 130 services and offering free changes and refunds to affected passengers. The incident marks Spain's worst train disaster since 2013, when 80 people died in a derailment in the country's northwest.