Witnesses have described scenes of terror and devastation after two trains collided near Urda in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday morning, with passengers thrown from the train and others struggling to escape through windows, according to Spanish newspapers El País and ABC.
Gonzalo, who was travelling alone in carriage six of an AVE high-speed train bound for Seville, described the experience as "terror" and "the longest seconds of my life", ABC reported.
"The train never braked, and I felt that with every millisecond that passed, things were getting closer to becoming serious," he said, according to ABC.
Describing the wreckage, Gonzalo said: "I was on the AVE high-speed train, in carriage 6. Towards Seville. It was the first carriage that stayed more or less on the track; all the ones in front of it either flew off or disappeared altogether. I mean, in fact, I didn't even dare to look, I just glanced around and all there was was a mangled mess of metal, generally speaking. I don't know how many carriages were ahead of me, but mine was the first one that stayed more or less on the track," ABC quoted him as saying.
Gonzalo suffered "a severe blow to his back, leg, and chest".
His glasses were broken, and he left his work backpack behind while escaping. "the important thing was to get out," he said, adding: "I'm lucky," ABC reported.
El País reported that passengers were screaming in the immediate aftermath of the collision. Some were thrown from the train, including passengers in the cafeteria car. People suffered head injuries and fractures, while others fell on top of one another.
Survivors made their way out and gathered in a field near the tracks. Some sat on the ground waiting for help, while others tried to contact their loved ones. By around 11am, doctors were treating dozens of injured people, and police were taking statements from passengers, El País reported.
David Gómez, a bricklayer working with colleagues on a nearby property, told El País that they rushed to the scene after hearing the crash.
"We were working in the area. We heard the crash and came," Gómez told El País.
When they arrived, they found two train carriages derailed and passengers trying to escape through windows, El País reported.
"People were trying to get out through the windows," he said, according to El País.
Gómez and his colleagues cut through barriers to reach the site and used their first-aid kits to help the injured, El País reported. Recalling the severity of the injuries, he said: "When they tried to pull a young woman out, there was a piece of her leg," El País quoted him as saying.
"So yes, unfortunately, there are fatalities," he added, according to El País.
Jesús Jerónimo, 54, who was travelling in the second carriage of the AVE train, said he was working on his laptop when the train suddenly accelerated and threw him against the seat in front of him, El País reported.
"I was working on my laptop when I felt a very strong acceleration and I crashed into the seat in front of me," he said, according to El País.
"People were thrown from the train. We thought we had derailed. Then, little by little, we got out and saw that our train was tilted. There were many injured people and a lot of people were shaken up. I saw papers on the floor and a child who was fine. Right now, we were helping the emergency services, holding IV bags with our hands… The firefighters, however, are working on the most damaged section of the train," Jerónimo told El País.
Jerónimo said the train had stopped shortly after leaving Madrid's Atocha station, about 20 minutes into the journey, before moving again, El País reported.
According to sources from Spain's 112 Emergency Service cited by Europa Press, the collision occurred at 8.54am on Wednesday near Urda station in Toledo province. Firefighters, Civil Protection teams, three medical helicopters and two mobile intensive care units were deployed to the scene.
The regional government activated the Castilla-La Mancha Territorial Emergency Plan, known as Platecam, at Operational Situation 1 in Toledo. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was "dismayed" by the "serious" accident and conveyed his support to the "victims", ABC reported.