At least thirty-nine people have been killed and dozens more injured after a catastrophic collision involving two high-speed trains in southern Spain on Sunday night. The disaster, described by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a "night of deep pain for our country," occurred near the town of Adamuz in Córdoba province.
The Scene of the Disaster
The collision happened just before 8pm on a stretch of track approximately 20 miles north-east of Córdoba. A northbound Iryo train, carrying 289 passengers and five crew from Málaga to Madrid, derailed. Parts of it then struck a southbound Renfe train, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva with nearly 200 people on board.
Spain's Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, explained that the rear section of the Iryo train left the rails. "It's speculation, of course, but if a train hadn't been coming in the opposite direction, we likely would not be talking about any victims at all," he stated. The impact sent the first two carriages of the Renfe train plummeting down a 4-metre slope, where they sustained the worst of the damage.
The remote location, accessible only by a single-track road, severely hampered rescue efforts, with ambulances struggling to reach the site.
Chaos, Casualties, and the Ongoing Search
Passenger accounts paint a picture of sudden terror. One traveller on the Huelva-bound train described a scene where "everything was very fast and chaotic; suitcases started falling." María Vidal, 32, on the Madrid-bound service, said the impact felt "like an earthquake" before the lights cut out.
As well as the 39 confirmed fatalities, around four dozen people were taken to hospital, with twelve in intensive care. Spanish media reported the driver of the Renfe train was among those killed.
Authorities confirmed all survivors had been rescued by Monday, with efforts turning to recovering and identifying the deceased. The head of the Andalusian government, Juanma Moreno, revealed the violent force of the crash, noting, "The impact was so incredibly violent that we have found bodies hundreds of metres away, which means that people were thrown through the windows." Police have opened offices to collect DNA samples to aid identification.
Investigating the Cause of the Crash
The cause remains unknown, with Minister Puente calling the accident "truly strange." It occurred on a straight section of track that was renovated in May. The derailed Iryo train was less than four years old and had been inspected just four days prior.
Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, ruled out excessive speed as a primary cause. He stated the collision happened on a line with a 250km/h limit, with the trains travelling at 205km/h and 110km/h respectively.
This is Spain's deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people died in a derailment in the north-west. Spain boasts Europe's largest high-speed network, a popular and generally safe transport system that carried over 25 million passengers on Renfe services alone in 2024. The network was opened to private competition in 2020, with Iryo—a joint venture involving Italy's state railway—beginning operations in late 2022.
