Europeupdated 55m ago2 min read
MapSpain Train Collision Kills At Least 30 Near Urda After Renfe And Iryo Crash
“Spanish authorities initially reported 10 deaths, but Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, added ‘that number will surely rise.’”
“At least 30 people have been killed after two trains collided in Spain this morning, local media outlets are reporting.”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
At least 30 people killed after two high-speed trains collided in Toledo province. One train rear-ended the other that had stopped, derailing two carriages.
Spain high-speed crash
A high-speed train collision on Spain’s Madrid-Seville line killed at least 30 people near the towns of Mora, Orgaz and Urda, according to a spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha region. ADIF said the crash happened along the route connecting Madrid with Seville, and the high-speed line linking the Madrid region with Andalusia was suspended. The collision occurred at around 8:30 a.m. local time at kilometer marker 118 near Urda and involved a Renfe train and an Iryo train, both traveling from Madrid to Seville.
Iryo said its service 6076, traveling from Madrid to Seville, was involved in the accident near Urda, and the company said it had activated all emergency protocols. Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said the government was mobilizing resources and coordinating with relevant institutions to respond to the crash.
Toll disputes and officials
Spanish media reported different casualty figures, with local media reporting 46 deaths citing emergency services while the higher toll remained unconfirmed, and other reporting put the death toll at least 30. Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, said authorities initially reported 10 deaths but that "that number will surely rise."
Pedro Sánchez said he was "shocked" by the accident and wrote that emergency services were on the ground to assist those impacted. Mónica García told TVE that emergency workers were focusing on rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged train cars, and she said, "It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy."
Service disruption and response
Iryo said all Iryo services departing from Madrid-Puerta de Atocha and traveling along the Southern Corridor have been canceled, and the company said it had no estimate for when service would resume. ADIF said the crash occurred Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo and that rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said civil protection authorities asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to attend to injured passengers.
A military emergency brigade was deployed to help emergency services, firefighters and police to the crash site, and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda to focus on the crash. The New York Times said the accident sent two carriages down an embankment near Toledo, and it quoted Adif saying the incident occurred between Mora and Orgaz and Urda.