AT least 39 people have been killed and hundreds injured after two high-speed trains derailed in Andalucia, Spain’s Guardia Civil have said, with the death toll expected to rise in the coming hours.
The horrifying accident happened near Adamuz in Cordoba on Sunday evening after an Iryo train travelling from Malaga to Madrid with over 300 passengers on board came off the tracks.
The reason for the derailment is currently unknown, with transport minister Oscar Puente saying the incident was ‘extremely strange’ as it took place on a ‘straight stretch of track’.
A separate service run by state operator Renfe bound for Huelva from Madrid and running on an adjacent line in the opposite direction also overturned after colliding with a handful of carriages from the stricken train.
In a statement posted in the early hours of Monday morning, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Tonight is a night of deep pain for our country due to the tragic railway accident in Adamuz.
“I want to express my most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.
“No words can alleviate such immense suffering, but I want them to know that the entire country stands with them in this extremely difficult moment. All emergency services are working in a coordinated manner without rest.”
Emergency services in Andalucia said 122 people had been treated for their injuries, 48 of whom remain in hospital.
12 passengers remain in intensive care – including one child.
Around 400 passengers were on the two trains at the time of the accident, according to local reports.
Cordoba fire chief Paco Carmona said: “There are still people trapped. The operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow. We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”
He said the Iryo train had been evacuated within hours of the accident but rescue operations for the Renfe train were proving more complicated, with the crash leaving carriages badly damaged with twisted metal and seats.
According to the transport minister, most of those killed and injured had been in the first two carriages of the Renfe train.
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, arrived at the scene with local police within hours and said he saw ‘a passenger torn to shreds’.
He added: “We were the first to arrive and there was a body cut in half. But there was no light, it was night-time. The scene is horrific.”
Adif, which runs Spain’s rail infrastructure, said all rail services between Madrid and Andalucia had been suspended.
The prime minister will travel to the site of the crash this morning, it has been announced.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia said they were following the news ‘with great concern’.
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