At least 64 killed in high-speed train collision in central Spain

At least 64 people were killed and a further 80 injured – with the toll likely to rise – when two high-speed trains collided in Spain ​on Wednesday, the ‌second deadly accident in less than a ⁠year on the line connecting Madrid to the southern Andalusia region, regional authorities said.

Footage from ‌regional Castilla-La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at ⁠least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen ​strewn across an embankment beneath the line.

Miguel, a passenger ‌travelling with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains, described to national radio network, COPE, the moment of the accident.

"We heard a ‌massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the ​train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train – I imagine it must have been the other ​one," he said.

Rail operator Adif detailed that the incident occurred between the towns of Mora and Orgaz.

"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.

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The first toll given by Castilla-la Mancha regional government reported 10 deaths, along with a warning the figure would likely rise. ​

"The information we are receiving is not good at all... It is possible that the number will increase," Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the government of central region, Castilla-La Mancha, told local media, CMM.

Padilla told state broadcaster TVE that the accident involved two high-speed trains heading in the same direction from Madrid to Seville and that one ran into the tail of the other while it was stopped, knocking two of its cars off the track. She added that the cause of the crash was unknown. 

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".

A Renfe and an Iryo train crashed just after 9am (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.

Padilla noted that 397 passengers were aboard the RENFE train and 147 passengers on the IRYO train.

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.

The prime minister's agenda, published on the Spanish government's website, was promptly 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)