Spain in mourning after rail disaster near Urda claims at least 30 lives
Two high-speed trains collide near Urda, south of Madrid, killing at least 30 people and injuring many more, as Spain reels from its second rail disaster in under a year.
At least 30 people are feared dead after two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid this morning, in a disaster that has revived painful memories of a fatal crash on the same network only months ago. More than 500 passengers were travelling on the two trains involved in the collision near the town of Urda, some 140 kilometres south of the capital.
Emergency services, including firefighters, paramedics and three helicopters, are working at the scene, where carriages have overturned and tumbled down an embankment. The Castilla-La Mancha regional government confirmed the death toll had risen to "a minimum" of 30, though officials warned the figure is almost certain to increase.
According to the regional government's spokesperson, Esther Padilla, 146 passengers and one baby were on a train operated by the private company Iryo, while 397 people were aboard the Renfe-managed service. Reports suggest the Renfe train rear-ended the Iryo train, which had stopped on the tracks, causing two carriages of the latter to derail. The transport ministry, quoted by broadcaster RTVE, indicated that a failure involving safety mechanisms may have contributed, and government sources believe human error linked to signalling is a likely cause. No official account of the sequence of events has yet been confirmed.
Witnesses described scenes of horror. A 17-year-old passenger named Eduarda told Cadena Ser there was "chaos" at the scene, with many unable to escape the wreckage. "I heard screams... It was horrific," she said. Another passenger, Miguel, told COPE radio that he and colleagues in the rear carriage heard "a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail". The mayor of nearby Los Yébenes, Jesús Pérez, said local police had described "truly nightmarish scenes".
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was "shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo" and remained in constant contact with the transport minister and the president of Castilla-La Mancha. "My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families," he wrote on social media. The royal family said it was "moved and concerned" and shared in the sorrow of the bereaved, while praising the emergency workers.
Most political parties suspended campaigning for next month's general election, with Sánchez and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo cancelling public engagements. The far-right party Vox was the exception, with its leader Santiago Abascal accusing others of attempting to "use mourning to silence criticism" of the country's rail infrastructure.
Hospitals in Toledo, Ciudad Real and Alcázar de San Juan have suspended planned surgeries to cope with an influx of casualties, and blood transfusion centres in Madrid and Toledo issued urgent appeals for donations. Renfe has set up a helpline for relatives of those on board, and rail services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia remain suspended.
The crash comes less than a year after 46 people died in a collision at Adamuz, when a derailed high-speed train's rear carriages were struck by an oncoming Renfe service. That disaster, Spain's worst rail tragedy since 2013, raised questions about safety on the country's prized high-speed network. The circumstances at Urda appear different, with reports pointing to a signalling failure rather than a fracture on the track, but the latest collision will intensify scrutiny of rail safety in Spain.