At least 39 people have died in a train collision in southern Spain and dozens more have been injured in the country's worst rail crash in more than a decade, according to Spain's Civil Guard.
The collision occurred when carriages from a Madrid-bound train derailed and crossed over onto the opposite tracks, colliding with an oncoming train in Adamuz on Sunday evening.
A total of 400 passengers and crew were aboard both trains during the incident. Emergency services treated approximately 122 individuals, with 43, including four children, currently hospitalized. Out of that number, 12 adults and one child are reported to be in intensive care.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente indicated that the death toll is not yet final as investigations have been launched.
Puente also termed the incident extremely strange, stating that all railway experts consulted by the government were baffled by the accident.
The crash occurred at 19:45 local time (18:45 GMT), around an hour after the train left Málaga for Madrid, derailing on a straight section of tracks near Córdoba.
The impact caused the second train's carriages to be pushed into an embankment, significantly affecting the front carriages where most victims were located.
The involved trains, a Freccia 1000 type from Italy, can reach speeds up to 400 km/h (250 mph).
Córdoba fire chief Francisco Carmona reported that rescuers encountered difficulty due to the twisted wreckage, often having to remove deceased passengers to reach survivors.
In the aftermath, rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended, with no operations expected to resume on Monday. The official cause of the accident is yet to be determined and an inquiry is not anticipated to produce answers for at least a month, according to the transport minister.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez commented on the tragedy, noting that the country would experience a night of deep pain. The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, described being among the first on the scene, calling it a nightmare.
The tragedy has elicited condolences from international leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
This catastrophic incident recalls the devastating 2013 Galicia train derailment, which resulted in 80 fatalities, highlighting concerns surrounding Spain's extensive high-speed rail network— the second largest globally.
