At least 30 people killed in high-speed rail crash in Spain

At least 30 people have died in a train accident that occurred Wednesday morning near Urda station in Toledo, Spain, according to the government, which fears there may be more fatalities. “It could be worse than Adamuz [the rail accident in Córdoba that claimed 46 lives on January 18],” government sources said.

An AVE high-speed train collided with an Iryo train that was stopped on the tracks, according to sources from the emergency services, who indicated that two cars fell down an embankment. According to initial reports, the AVE train may have struck the Iryo train from behind, causing two cars of the latter train to derail.

Spanish state rail company Renfe has reported that train service between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia has been suspended. The government and the opposition have canceled their schedules for Wednesday after receiving news of the accident.

“I am in constant contact with the Minister of Transportation and the premier of Castilla-La Mancha. Emergency services are working on the ground to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the relevant authorities. My thoughts, solidarity, and support go out to all the victims and their families,” posted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on X.

“A human error by an [state-owned railway infrastructure company] Adif operator in response to a malfunction in the main signaling system is the likely cause of the accident,” government sources said. This safety system is automated, but when it fails, it switches to manual mode. That is why the trains came to a stop when the automatic safety system failed, and service resumed under human control — and that is where the error occurred, according to initial analyses.

Rafael Escudero, spokesperson for the Railway Union, said that the accident was “very unusual.” Speaking to Antena 3 radio, he noted that there is no passenger stop in that area, that train traffic is monitored in real time, and that the train also receives real-time information on the condition of the tracks; if there is an obstacle — such as another train — it would stop.

A passenger traveling in one of the rear cars of one of the trains told EL PAÍS that he felt a “strong impact” about 40 minutes into the trip. The collision occurred at kilometer marker 118, between the towns of Mora, Orgaz, and Urda (Toledo). The Renfe train involved in the accident had stopped and slowed down minutes earlier due to a traffic problem on the line. The explanation points to human error, because when the safety system failed, about eight trains in the area came to a stop; they were then ordered to move, but the Iryo train was unable to do so and remained stationary.

A passenger, Miguel Ángel Pérez, who had already exited the train, told state broadcaster TVE by phone that the accident was “terrible, indescribable.” He was travelling in the last car of Renfe’s AVE 2080, which was carrying a total of 397 passengers. “We’ve come to realize the immense gravity” of what happened, he admitted. “With the huge impact and the rattling, we started clinging to our seats,” he said. “We were able to get out of the car by breaking the windows,” he noted before hanging up because he was being asked to provide his ID to authorities.

According to initial analyses, an operator at the Atocha control center in Madrid mistakenly ordered the Renfe train to proceed even though the Iryo was blocking the track; this ultimately led to a rear-end collision — at a speed yet to be determined — between the Renfe train and the Iryo, which caused the accident. Investigations are ongoing, but these are the initial findings from technical experts, according to government sources.

The spokesperson for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, Esther Padilla, confirmed on TVE that there were numerous fatalities, but announced that the number “will most certainly rise.” “The Military Emergency Unit (UME) has offered its assistance, as have Castilla-León, Madrid, Andalusia, and Navarre — the latter being the most recent to join the effort,” Padilla added.

Although there is no confirmation of fatalities at this time, this accident brings to mind the derailment of two high-speed trains in Adamuz (Córdoba) on January 18, which was the most serious train accident in Spain since 2013, when an Alvia train connecting Madrid with Ferrol derailed on a curve in Angrois, near Santiago de Compostela, due to excessive speed. Eighty people died and another 145 were injured.

The worst accident in Spanish railway history is considered to be the one that occurred in Torre del Bierzo (León) on January 3, 1944. It involved a collision inside a tunnel between an express train, a shunting locomotive, and a freight train, resulting in an official death toll of 78. However, it is believed that the actual number of fatalities was concealed by the Franco regime. Other accidents with a high number of casualties occurred in El Cuervo (Seville) on July 21, 1972, when a head-on collision between a railbus operating on the Cádiz–Seville route and an express train from Madrid resulted in 86 deaths and 112 injuries; and on the Valencia Metro on July 3, 2006, when a Metrovalencia subway train derailed due to high speed on a curve, resulting in 43 deaths and 47 injuries.

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