This post was originally published on this site.
At least 21 people have been killed after a crash involving high-speed trains in southern Spain, as authorities warn the death toll could rise overnight.
The incident happened near the town of Adamuz, close to the city of Cordoba, when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and crashed onto a neighbouring track, rail network operator Adif said.
A second train travelling in the opposite direction, from Madrid to Huelva, also derailed.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country will endure a “night of deep pain”.
More than 30 are being treated for serious injuries in hospital, Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said.
He added the incident appeared to be “extremely strange”, while the official cause is not yet known. An investigation is not expected to determine what happened for at least a month.
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, was one of the first people on the scene of the accident. He described it as like “a nightmare”.
Andalusian emergency services said at least 73 people in total were injured in the collision.
The twisted wreckage of the train made it difficult to recover survivors and bodies, rescue crews said.
Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE: “We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work.”
According to Adif, the crash happened about ten minutes after the train left Malaga at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT). The company said it was setting up spaces for relatives of victims at Atocha, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva stations.
All rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended following the accident and will remain close on Monday. The company said it will keep terminals open overnight for impacted passengers.
Iryo, a private rail company that operated the journey from Malaga, confirmed the derailment and said around 300 passengers were on board.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said they were following news of the disaster with “with great concern”.
“We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured,” the royal palace said on X.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with RTVE who was on one of the trains, said the impact felt like an “earthquake”.
“I was in the first carriage. There was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed,” Jimenez said.
In his latest update on X, he said he was among a group of passengers waiting in the “freezing cold night” for buses to transport them to a local sports centre.
The Spanish Red Cross has deployed emergency support services to the scene, while also offering counselling to families nearby.
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez from the Red Cross told an RNE radio program: “The families are going through a situation of great anxiety due to the lack of information. These are very distressing moments.”
