MADRID: At least 10 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Wednesday (Oct 28), the second deadly accident in less than a year on the line connecting Madrid to the southern Andalusia region, regional authorities said.
Footage from regional Castilla-La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line.
Miguel, a passenger travelling with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains, described to COPE radio the moment of the accident.
"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 - I imagine it must have been the other one," he said.
DEATH TOLL LIKELY TO RISE
Castilla-La Mancha region spokesperson Esther Padilla said the number of casualties was likely to rise.
"The latest confirmed figure is 10 dead, but we know it is going to increase. Very likely we will be talking about a higher number," Padilla said, adding that several carriages had plunged down an embankment.
She said 147 people had been travelling on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.
The collision comes nine months after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators on the same line that killed 46 people.
That crash in January, which occurred after a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, triggered a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's agenda, published on the Spanish government's website, had been cleared for the day. The opposition People's Party also cancelled all campaign events ahead of a snap election on Nov 29, a spokesperson said.
"Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo. My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families," Sanchez said on X.
The Renfe and Iryo trains crashed just after 9am, causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region said, adding that the cause was not yet clear.
Rail operator Adif said the incident occurred on the line from Madrid to Seville.
Manuel Galan, the mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told Cadena SER that emergency services had asked the town council to prepare emergency facilities, including a sports hall, to accommodate passengers and the injured.