Photo: Javier Perez Montes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
At least 30 people were killed on Wednesday morning, October 28, when one high-speed train ran into the rear of another on the line between Madrid and Seville in central Spain, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha said. Officials described the figure as a minimum, and the toll had already climbed from an initial count of 10 within about two hours.
The collision happened shortly before 9 am local time near the town of Urda in Toledo province, south of Madrid. Two carriages left the track and tumbled down an embankment, according to emergency services.
What happened
Both trains were heading south from Madrid towards Seville. According to Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government, an AVE service run by the state rail company Renfe struck a train operated by the private company Iryo that had come to a halt ahead of it. The Renfe train was carrying 397 passengers and the Iryo train about 147, putting more than 540 people on board the two services.
Aerial images released by the Guardia Civil showed wreckage strewn along a slope beside the line, with rescue vehicles gathered around the derailed coaches. One passenger in the rear car of one train told a Spanish radio station he heard a huge roar and a thud that lasted around 10 seconds, before seeing a wrecked train through the window.
The cause is not yet known. Investigators are expected to examine the actions of the driver and the working of the signalling system, and the Guardia Civil has sent a specialist team to the site.
Rescue effort and disruption
Firefighters from nearby towns, medical helicopters and mobile intensive care units were sent to the scene, and the Interior Ministry deployed the military emergency unit. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said the town had been asked to set up a sports hall to receive injured passengers. Madrid also sent medical teams and firefighters. Health Minister Mónica García said hospitals in the region were freeing up resources, warning that it was a high-impact crash and that authorities feared a major tragedy.
The rail infrastructure operator ADIF suspended all high-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia, and help desks for families were opened at stations including Madrid-Atocha and Seville-Santa Justa. Renfe activated a crisis cell and a helpline for relatives.
My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families.
Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
Second major crash this year
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was shocked and in constant contact with Transport Minister Óscar Puente and the region’s president, Emiliano García-Page, who headed to the site. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo also expressed concern, and the main parties suspended campaigning ahead of next month’s general election.
The disaster comes about nine months after a train derailed and hit an oncoming service near Adamuz in Córdoba province in January, killing more than 40 people. That crash was Spain’s deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people died, and had already raised questions about confidence in the country’s high-speed network, the largest in Europe. Trains of Renfe and Iryo were involved in that accident too.
What happens next
Rescue teams are still working to recover people from the two worst-damaged carriages, and officials have warned the number of dead may rise further. A formal investigation into why the Renfe train hit the stationary Iryo service is expected, and it is not yet clear when high-speed traffic between Madrid and the south will resume.
