By Sumayya
URDA, Spain — A high-speed train crashed into the back of another stopped train on Wednesday in central Spain, pushing two cars off the tracks and killing at least 64 people, officials stated.
The central government’s office for Castilla La Mancha confirmed that the number of deaths had gone up.
The regional president of Castilla La Mancha, Emiliano Garcia-Page, stated that at least 80 people were hurt. He warned that the final death toll will definitely rise as rescue teams continue to look for survivors and bodies in the broken pieces of the train.
This is the second major train accident to happen in Spain this year.
Spain’s rail network operator, ADIF, stated that the collision happened Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. Both high-speed trains were carrying hundreds of passengers and travelling in the same direction from the capital city of Madrid to Seville in southwestern Spain, according to Esther Padilla, a spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region.
One train hit the back of the other train that had stopped, which knocked two of its cars off the tracks. Padilla stated that the exact cause of the accident is still unknown. Train services have been stopped between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia.
The crash happened on a flat piece of land surrounded by olive fields between the towns of Urda and Los Yebenes. The impact left one train car completely torn into metal scraps and scattered trash down a gravel hill.
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia told TVE that emergency workers are focusing their efforts on pulling survivors and bodies out of the two most damaged train cars. She added that the injured people are being taken to different hospitals across the area.
“It was a high-speed crash, so we expect this to be a massive tragedy,” Garcia stated.
The accident involved a train from Spain’s state-owned company, RENFE, and a train from a private rail company named IRYO. Spanish media reported that it looked like the RENFE train hit the IRYO train from behind. Garcia-Page shared that 24 people died in the RENFE train, and six people died in the IRYO train.
Padilla noted that there were 397 passengers on the RENFE train and 147 passengers on the IRYO train.
Trains belonging to these same two companies were also involved in another fatal crash back in January.
IRYO, which is an Italian-owned company, stated that it has started its safety rules and is working very closely with local officials.
The mayor of the nearby town of Urda, Manuel Galan, told TVE that emergency teams asked the town hall to set up a sports hall to take care of the hurt passengers.
A military emergency team was sent to help the local rescue services, firefighters, and police. Ambulances and medical helicopters flew back and forth from the crash site, while passengers who were not hurt were put onto buses.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cancelled his planned schedule to focus entirely on the crash. He wrote on X that he was deeply shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo.
“Emergency services are working at the site to take care of the affected passengers,” wrote Sanchez, who has a national election coming up next month. “All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.” Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also shared a short statement on X saying they are following the news closely.
“We are deeply saddened and worried by the train accident in Urda (Toledo),” the royal couple stated. “We share the pain of the families and loved ones who lost their lives, and we send our support to the injured and everyone affected.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, “My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the victims. Today, Europe cries with you.”
Spain’s soccer federation postponed all 24 Copa del Rey matches that were supposed to be played on Wednesday.
The damage from Wednesday’s crash reminded many people of another train collision in January, where 45 people died in southern Spain. In that accident, an IRYO train flew off the tracks and hit an oncoming RENFE train, sending the first two cars falling down a four-metre (13-foot) hill.
That January crash had been the deadliest in Spain since 2013, when an accident killed 80 people.
The January crash hurt people’s trust in the country’s large high-speed train system.
Over the last few decades, Spain has spent a lot of money on high-speed rails, which are built for trains that travel at 250 km/h (155 m.p.h.) or faster. This has made the country a global leader in train travel.
Spain has built about 3,900 kilometres (2,400 miles) of high-speed tracks for its 49 million people. Only China has more high-speed tracks, with 45,000 kilometres (28,000 miles) for its 1.4 billion people, according to the International Union of Railways.
Spain only recently allowed private companies to compete against the state-owned RENFE. IRYO began running its trains in Spain in 2022.
A spokesperson for Spain’s train workers’ union, Joan Rodriguez, stated that having more trains on the tracks from private companies has put a lot of pressure on the rail system.
“We are not sure if opening up the high-speed train services was matched by the necessary repairs and upkeep of the lines,” Rodriguez told TVE. “I am not saying this caused the crashes, but the increased use of the train network is definitely a factor to think about.”
