Spain Train Collision Kills 46 Near Toledo

At least 46 people died on Wednesday when two high-speed trains collided in central Spain, with authorities warning the number could rise. The crash occurred shortly after 9am local time on a stretch of track between Los Yébenes and Urda, in the province of Toledo.

An AVE service and an Iryo service were involved. Spanish state broadcaster TVE reported both trains were moving in the same direction when one struck the rear of the other. Sources with the 112 emergency services said two carriages left the tracks and fell down an embankment. Spain's rail infrastructure operator ADIF confirmed the incident. Rail operator Renfe suspended services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia. Reports indicate the trains were traveling to and from Seville.

Manuel Galans, mayor of Urda, told TVE that passengers were injured. Civil protection authorities asked the town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to receive passengers affected by the crash. Antonio Sanz, Andalusia's Minister of the Presidency, Health and Emergencies, said on X that mobile intensive care units and a logistics support vehicle from the Andalusian Health Service had been dispatched to the scene.

A room is also being prepared at Madrid's Atocha station to support relatives of potential victims and those injured. Madrid Deputy Mayor Inmaculada Sanz said personnel from SAMUR, the city's emergency medical service, were heading to the station to set up a support center.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was "deeply saddened" by the accident in Urda and expressed his "solidarity and support to the victims and their families" in a message posted on X. He said emergency services were working at the scene. The Spanish government cancelled its schedule for Wednesday. The collision followed a January derailment in southern Spain that killed 45 people when a train struck an oncoming service.