A high-speed train smashed into another train after derailing in the southern province of Córdoba, officials said. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another high-speed train in southern Spain on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and injuring at least 73 others in the country’s deadliest train accident since at least 2013, the authorities said.
The regional emergency services agency said 24 of the injured people were in serious condition. Juanma Moreno, the president of the Andalucía government, said the death toll was expected to rise.
Footage showed a passenger climbing out of the window of a mangled train car resting at an odd angle, as rescue crews worked beside another window. Another clip showed passengers gathering their belongings and using flashlights to see in the dark.
The two trains collided at around 7:45 p.m. in Adamuz, near the city of Córdoba, along the main high-speed rail line connecting southern Spain with Madrid, the country’s landlocked capital.
The rear cars of the first train left the tracks and spilled onto the opposite track where another train was passing, causing the front two cars of the second train to also derail, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said.
The cause of the initial derailment was not immediately clear. Mr. Puente said the first train was just a few years old and that the section of track where the accident occurred had recently been renovated.
“The accident is extremely strange,” he said. “It happened on a straightaway. All the experts we have consulted are extremely baffled.”
The first train, operated by the private company Iryo, was traveling to Madrid from Málaga, on the country’s southern coast. The second train, operated by Spain’s national rail company, Renfe, had departed from Madrid and was bound for the southern city of Huelva, west of Seville.
Iryo said around 300 passengers were on board the first train at the time of the accident. Renfe has not said how many passengers the second train was carrying.
Here’s what else to know:
The victims: The Andalucía government set up a medical post at the crash site to treat victims, and the Córdoba city government issued an urgent appeal for doctors to help treat the injured.
Rail suspensions: High-speed trains across much of southern Spain will be suspended on Monday, Spain’s railway infrastructure operator said on social media.
Spain’s rail network: The country ranks second worldwide behind China in high-speed rail network length, according to the International Union of Railways. About 40 million passengers use Spain’s high speed rail network every year, Renfe says, and its average speeds rival those of global leaders like Japan and France.
