AT least 39 people have been killed and 152 injured after two high-speed trains carrying hundreds of passengers derailed in Andalucia, according to the Guardia Civil.
The accident happened near Adamuz in Cordoba on Sunday evening after an Iryo train travelling from Malaga to Madrid with over 300 passengers onboard came off the tracks.
Another train traveling south from Madrid to Huelva careered into it carrying over 100 passengers. It was sent into an embankment.
A total of five are described as ‘very grave’ and a further 24 very seriously injured. Four hundred passengers and staff were onboard both trains, the rail networks said.
Emergency services reported that they had treated 122 people, with 48, including five children, still in hospital. Of those, 11 adults and a child are in critical condition.
The reason for the derailment is currently unknown although the IRYO train came off the rails as it approached platform 1 at Adamuz station.
A separate Alvia service bound for Huelva from Madrid and running on an adjacent line in the opposite direction also overturned after colliding with carriages of the stricken train.
Multiple other passengers have been injured and an unknown amount remain trapped after the horrifying incident, which occurred at 7.39pm local time.
Video footage shared on social media shows passengers climbing through broken windows as emergency services scramble around in the dark in a desperate attempt to assist the injured.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said on X: “Very concerned about the accident between two high-speed trains that have derailed in Adamuz (Cordoba).
“The government is working with the rest of the competent authorities and emergency services to assist the passengers.”
Services between Madrid and Andalucia are currently suspended as a result of the accident.
Services elsewhere on Spain’s high-speed train network remain operational.
Oscar Puente, Spain’s transport minister, said: “The latest information coming in is very serious. The last units of the Iryo train heading toward Madrid have derailed, with those cars invading the opposite track where, at that moment, a Renfe train heading toward Huelva was travelling.
“The impact has been terrible, causing the first two units of the Renfe train to be thrown off as a result. The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The fundamental priority now is to assist the victims.”
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