Mapped: Where the high-speed practice collision in Spain befell | EUROtoday

A high-speed passenger practice derailed in southern Spain on Sunday night and struck an oncoming service, forcing the second practice off the tracks and down an embankment and killing at the least 21 individuals.

The collision occurred close to the city of Adamuz, in Córdoba province, roughly 360km south of Madrid. Emergency providers mentioned the crash occurred at 7.45pm, round 10 minutes after an Iryo-operated practice left Córdoba heading in the direction of the capital.

According to Adif, the state physique that manages Spain’s rail infrastructure, the Malaga-to-Madrid Iryo service derailed and crossed onto the neighbouring line, the place it hit a Renfe practice travelling from Madrid to Huelva. The affect derailed the Renfe service, sending its entrance carriages down the facet of the railway embankment.

Andalusia’s regional president, Juanma Moreno, mentioned 75 individuals had been taken to hospital, together with 15 in a critical situation. Speaking within the early hours of Monday, Mr Moreno warned the dying toll might rise. “The forcefulness of the accident has been very strong … we will likely find (more) corpses,” he mentioned, including that heavy equipment was required to chop by way of twisted steel.

There had been about 400 passengers throughout each trains. More than 300 had been on the Iryo service, whereas round 100 had been travelling on the Renfe practice. Most passengers had been Spanish residents returning to or leaving Madrid after the weekend. January is usually a low vacationer interval in Spain, and officers mentioned it was unclear what number of overseas guests had been on board.

The 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva practice was amongst these killed, reported The Country. Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, mentioned most fatalities and critical accidents had been concentrated within the first two carriages of the Renfe practice, which bore the brunt of the collision. The first carriage carried 37 passengers and the second 16. The Renfe practice was travelling at about 200kmph on the time of affect.

The reason behind the derailment stays unknown.

Mr Puente described the incident as “really strange”, noting that it occurred on a straight part of observe that had been renewed in May. Investigators might want to study potential technical faults, signalling information and upkeep data to find out whether or not infrastructure requirements, oversight obligations or operator liabilities require additional scrutiny.

Passengers described scenes of panic contained in the carriages. “There are many injured. I am still trembling,” mentioned Maria San José, 33, who was travelling on the Iryo practice.

Another passenger instructed TVE: “There were people screaming, their bags fell from the shelves. I was travelling to Huelva in the fourth carriage, the last, luckily.”

Córdoba’s hearth chief, Paco Carmona, mentioned the Iryo practice was evacuated inside hours, however the Renfe carriages had been severely broken. “There are still people trapped,” he mentioned. “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive.”

Local residents in Adamuz, a city of about 5,000 individuals, opened a reception centre and introduced meals and blankets as temperatures fell to round 6C in a single day. Rail providers between Madrid and Andalusia have been suspended whereas the investigation continues.

Additional reporting by companies