Second Train Wreck This Year Kills 30 on Madrid-Seville Line
Two high-speed trains collided in Toledo province Wednesday, killing at least 30 passengers and injuring others as emergency crews responded.
By Jessica Abebe ·
At least 30 people died when two high-speed trains collided in central Spain on Wednesday. The crash occurred in Toledo province just after 9 a.m. local time. Officials from the Castilla La Mancha region confirmed the death toll.
Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government, told state broadcaster TVE that the trains were traveling in the same direction from Madrid to Seville. One train stopped on the line and the other struck it from behind. The impact pushed two cars of the stationary train off the tracks. Padilla said investigators had not yet determined the cause.
The two services involved were the state-owned Renfe and the private operator Iryo. Padilla reported that approximately 397 people were riding the Renfe train. Another 147 passengers were on the Iryo train. Iryo is an Italian-owned company. Renfe established an emergency phone line for families of the victims.
Miguel, a passenger in the rear car of one train, described the collision to Spain’s COPE radio. He heard a massive roar followed by a thud that lasted about 10 seconds. He looked out the right-hand window and saw the other train wrecked. He believed the sound came from the other train derailing.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was deeply saddened by the accident. He posted on X that emergency services were working on site to assist those affected. He expressed his sympathy and support to the victims and their families.
Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda, a municipality near Toledo, told TVE that emergency services asked him to prepare a local sports hall for injured passengers. The crash is the second deadly rail accident in Spain this year. A similar collision between Renfe and Iryo trains on the same line in January killed 45 people.
Spain operates the largest high-speed rail network in Europe for trains moving faster than 155 mph. The European Union records more than 1,900 miles of such track in the country. The January crash was the deadliest in the nation since 2013, when 80 people died.
