At least 10 killed in high-speed train collision in central Spain

Spain’s state-owned news agency and other local media say at least 10 people have died in a crash between two trains in central Spain.

“The information we are receiving is not good at all. There are at least 10 dead and it is possible that the number will increase,” Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the government of central region, Castilla-La Mancha, told local media, CMM.

Spanish ​Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on X ​he was “shocked ​by the ​serious train accident ​in Toledo” and expressed his “affection, solidarity and support ⁠to all the ⁠victims ​and their families”.

Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. Rail service is suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.

“Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line has been suspended following a rear-end collision between two trains,” Adif said in a message posted on X.

A Renfe and an Iryo train crashed just after 9 am (0800 GMT), causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a government spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region said, adding that the cause and number of injuries were still being determined.

Rail operator Adif detailed that the incident occurred between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, and involved a high speed train travelling from Madrid to Seville.

Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda near the central city of Toledo, said he had been asked by emergency services to prepare a sports hall to accommodate the injured.

Spanish newspaper El Pais cited witnesses describing numerous injuries and the arrival of emergency medical teams at the scene. Two of the rail cars involved reportedly left the tracks and fell down an embankment, the report added.

The prime minister’s agenda, published on teh Spanish government’s website, had been cleared for the day. The opposition ⁠People’s Party ​also cancelled all campaign events, a spokesperson said.

The collision comes nine ​months ‌after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the ⁠same operators on the same line that killed 46 people.

That crash in January, which occurred after a ‌train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in ⁠Cordoba province, triggered a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, Reuters)