At Least 39 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide in Toledo, Spain
Two carriages fell down an embankment after the collision near Urda on Wednesday morning. The Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line was suspended as rescue crews worked at the scene.
At least 39 people are dead after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday morning, according to emergency services in Castilla-La Mancha. Dozens more were injured.
The collision happened shortly after 9 a.m. local time between Los Yébenes and Urda, in the province of Toledo, on the high-speed line linking Madrid to Andalusia. Two carriages left the tracks and fell down an embankment.
One train was a Renfe AVE service, train 2080, which had left Madrid’s Atocha station at 8 a.m. bound for Seville. The other was an Iryo service. Both were on the Madrid-Seville route. Spain’s rail infrastructure manager, Adif, described the crash as a rear-end collision and suspended all traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line.
Fire crews from Alcázar de San Juan and Orgaz responded, along with Civil Protection teams, three air ambulances and two intensive-care units. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said emergency teams asked him to ready the town’s sports hall to receive the injured.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was shocked by the crash. He said he was in constant contact with Transport Minister Óscar Puente and the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page. Sánchez suspended his schedule for the day. Emergency services said the death toll could still rise as rescue work continued.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Early reports differed on the exact sequence of events, and officials have not yet said what went wrong.
It is the second serious high-speed rail accident in Spain in ten months. A collision at Adamuz in January killed 45 people.
