A catastrophic high‑speed train accident in southern Spain has claimed at least 39 lives and left dozens more wounded, authorities confirmed as rescue operations continued on Monday.
The incident, one of the deadliest in Spain’s modern rail history, occurred on Sunday evening near Adamuz in Córdoba province when two high‑speed passenger trains derailed and collided on a busy national line.
The crash unfolded at approximately 7:40 p.m. local time along the Madrid–Seville route when an Iryo‑operated train travelling from Málaga to Madrid derailed on a straight, recently refurbished section of track.
That train veered onto an adjacent line and was struck by an oncoming Renfe service bound for Huelva, causing both trains to leave the tracks and several carriages to overturn or fall down an embankment.
Spanish authorities reported that at least 39 passengers have died, with the toll expected to rise as recovery efforts proceed.
More than 120 people sustained injuries, including multiple cases classified as serious or critical; many remain hospitalised.
Emergency services, including firefighters, paramedics, police and military personnel, have been working through difficult terrain in the remote crash zone to extract survivors and recover victims from the wreckage.
Local residents in Adamuz and surrounding towns have also assisted with first aid and relief efforts.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cancelled scheduled engagements to oversee the government’s response and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the accident as “extremely strange,” noting that the derailment occurred on a straight and newly upgraded stretch of track and involved a relatively new train, complicating initial assessments of the cause.
Rail services between Madrid and major Andalusian cities, including Seville, Córdoba and Granada, were suspended pending safety inspections and ongoing investigations.
The national rail infrastructure authority, Adif, has pledged a thorough inquiry into the sequence of events that led to the collision.
This disaster eclipses recent rail accidents in Spain and raises urgent questions about high‑speed rail safety and system oversight, particularly given the country’s extensive network that serves millions of passengers annually.