Spanish police said Monday at least 39 people were killed and 73 were injured Sunday when a high-speed train derailed in southern Spain and collided with another on an adjacent track, causing that train to partially derail as well, according to the country’s transportation minister.
The cause of the crash is currently unknown, Spanish Transportation Minister Óscar Puente said at a news conference in Madrid Sunday, calling the accident “strange” and saying the train that first derailed was relatively new.
The accident happened at about 7:45 p.m. local time near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, about 220 miles south of the country’s capital, Madrid. The train that initially derailed was traveling from the southern city of Málaga to the capital, while the other was traveling from Madrid to the southwestern port city of Huelva.
Video footage of the crash site showed a red-and-silver striped train partially tilted on its side as rescue workers reached through shattered windows to help people escape.
Puente called it “bad luck” that one train happened to be passing by another when the derailment occurred. He also said that the derailment happened on a recently renovated, straight stretch of track.
The total number of victims could not be confirmed as of late Sunday night, Puente said on social media. At a news conference, he said that all those who needed medical attention were taken to area hospitals, and rescue workers have shifted their focus to removing the dead.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said emergency workers were working “without rest” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
“Tonight is a night of profound sorrow for our country,” he said, adding, “No words can alleviate such great suffering.”
Spain, the second-most visited country in the world, has the longest high-speed rail network in Europe and the second-longest on Earth, after China. Some 40 million passengers rode high-speed long-distance trains in the country in 2024, according to a Spanish government report, and the average commercial speed is about 137 mph.
High-speed rail between Madrid and Córdoba, Seville, Málaga and Huelva will be suspended at least through Monday, the Adif rail network said.
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