High-Speed Train Crash in Spain Kills at Least 21, Injures Dozens

A collision between two high-speed trains in southern Spain has killed at least 21 people and injured more than 70, emergency services reported on Sunday.

The disaster occurred when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, crossing onto the other track where it collided with an oncoming train, which also derailed, according to Spain’s Adif rail body. A police spokesman initially reported five dead but soon updated the toll to 21.

Antonio Sanz, the top emergencies official in the southern region of Andalusia, told a press conference that at least 73 people had been injured. Spanish media said the number could reach 100 with passengers trapped in the carriages.

Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba, said carriages were twisted with people inside. Rescue crews have had to remove dead bodies to reach survivors. One witness told public broadcaster RTVE that one of the carriages of the first train had completely overturned.

A journalist from public broadcaster RNE who was travelling on one of the trains said the impact felt like an earthquake. Passengers used emergency hammers to break carriage windows to escape. Spanish media reports suggested that a total of 400 people were on the two trains.

High-speed services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva will be suspended for at least the entirety of Monday, Adif announced. Adif said spaces have been set up at stations in Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva to assist the relatives of victims.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia expressed their concern about the news and offered condolences to the relatives of the deceased, while wishing the injured a swift recovery.

Spain suffered one of its deadliest rail disasters in 2013, when a high-speed train travelling from Madrid to Galicia derailed, killing 79 people and injuring 179 others.

SOURCE: AFP