There was a serious train accident in Spain, with the collision between two trains along the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia, the region located in the south of the country. According to the first information available, the collision, which occurred at 08:54, involved an AVE high-speed train from Renfe (the state company), which was traveling on the Madrid-Seville route, and one from the Iryo company (a company controlled by FS International), which was traveling in the opposite direction.
At the moment, unfortunately, there appear to be numerous injuries and victims, with two of the carriages involved having apparently derailed and fallen down an embankment. The official toll has not yet been released: Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the government of Castile-La Mancha, confirmed at least 64 deaths, with the number “certainly going to increase”. At least 58 people were injured, some of them very serious.
The Farnesina recently confirmed that 5 Italians were traveling on board the Iryo train: 4 of them are in good condition, while investigations are underway for the fifth.
Adif, the company that manages the Spanish railway infrastructure, confirmed through a post on
Civil Guard sources confirmed that at least four carriages were involved in the accident, with several people trapped inside the trains. In more detail, 146 passengers plus a newborn were traveling on board the Iryo 7076, while on the AVE 2080 there were 397 passengers on board.
The causes, however, are not yet certain: a spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of Transport explained that, according to initial reconstructions, the AVE train may have hit the Iryo train, causing the derailment of two carriages and their fall into an embankment. According to what was reported by El País, the most accredited explanation would be human error, since following the malfunction of the safety system around eight trains stopped in the area.
The safety system is automated, but in the event of a breakdown it switches to manual mode. At this point the Adif technicians intervened, ordering the stopped convoys to gradually restart, but the Iryo train was unable to do so and remained stopped. According to initial rumours, an operator at the control center at Atocha station in Madrid mistakenly gave the order to the Renfe train to restart despite the Iryo blocking the tracks. The Renfe train then collided with the Iryo from behind at an as yet undetermined speed, causing the accident.
Rescue services immediately arrived in the area, with three medical helicopters and two intensive care units. The Community of Madrid will send eight teams of firefighters and eight ambulances to the site of the train accident in Urda.
This is the second major train accident in Spain in just 9 months: last January 18, the collision between two trains which also occurred on the high-speed line connecting Madrid to Andalusia (at Adamuz) caused 46 victims and over 150 injured.
