Spain, collision between two high-speed trains: at least 64 dead near Toledo

Two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday morning on the Madrid-Seville line, near the town of Urda, in the province of Toledo. According to the provisional toll released by the authorities of the Castilla-La Mancha region, the collision caused at least 64 deaths and 80 injuries, figures that the authorities themselves describe as still being updated as rescue operations continue.

The two trains involved were operated by Renfe and Iryo, the two companies that run the high-speed service on the route connecting Madrid to southern Spain. According to the reconstruction available so far, one train rear-ended another convoy that was stopped on the tracks, causing two carriages to derail. It has not yet been disclosed why the first train was stopped at that point on the line, nor have further details about the dynamics of the impact been released. Spanish rescue teams are working along the affected stretch to extract passengers trapped in the damaged carriages, in conditions made difficult by the deformation of the derailed cars.

Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia was suspended immediately after the accident. This is one of the busiest arteries in the Spanish high-speed network, and its interruption leaves a large area of southern Spain without a direct connection during the hours when searches for possible survivors among the wreckage of the derailed carriages are concentrated. No estimate has been given so far of the time needed to reopen the line, nor a definitive figure for the total number of passengers present on the two trains at the time of the collision.

A few hours after the accident, the European Commission announced that it was monitoring the situation together with the European Union Agency for Railways, stating that it was ready to provide support to Spain. A spokesperson for the EU executive used cautious language: “Too early to draw conclusions, we are following the situation with the Era Agency.”

The number of victims, the regional authorities themselves point out, is provisional and expected to change in the coming hours as identification work continues. No details have been released at this time about the people involved, nor about the exact makeup of the two trains at the time of the collision. Spain has not, for now, given a date for the resumption of service.

The news comes from three separate sources converging on the same essential elements: the location of the collision, the dynamics of the rear-end crash, the involvement of the two rail operators, and the intervention of the European Commission. The figures on deaths and injuries come from the regional authorities of Castilla-La Mancha, the body with jurisdiction over the territory where the accident occurred.

Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia remains suspended as the search for survivors continues among the two derailed carriages.