At least 30 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide in Spain
At least 30 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided near Urda in central Spain on Wednesday, October 28. Emergency services and regional rail rescue teams responded to the site after a Renfe service and an Iryo train struck each other on the main line connecting Madrid to the southern region of Andalusia.
High-Speed Collision Causes Derailment Along Elevated Track
The collision occurred just after 9:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), forcing two carriages of the Iryo train off the tracks. Images from regional broadcaster Castilla-La Mancha Television showed at least one derailed carriage resting precariously on an elevated section of the line, while wreckage, twisted metal, and broken panels tumbled down the embankment below. Passenger testimony delivered to local radio station COPE described a massive 10-second roar and severe shaking before travellers in the rear cars saw the impacted train through their windows.
Regional authorities from Castilla-La Mancha confirmed that the official death toll quickly escalated from an initial count of 10 to at least 30 victims as search teams searched the wreckage.
This fatal disaster marks the second major incident on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line in less than a year. Nine months prior, a train derailment near Adamuz in Cordoba province resulted in an oncoming collision that claimed 46 lives.
