A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks and down an embankment in a collision that killed at least 39 people, said Spain’s interior ministry.
A total of 39 people have died in the train accident.
A total of 73 people remain hospitalized, 24 of them in serious condition, including four minors.
The accident happened near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360 km (223 miles) south of the capital Madrid.
Teléfonos para atender a los afectados por el descarrilamiento en Adamuz (Córdoba) 👇🏻
El Pais newspaper reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train, the one that was struck, was among the dead.
There were around 400 passengers on the two trains, most of them Spaniards travelling back to and from Madrid after the weekend. It was unclear how many tourists could be onboard as January is not holiday season in Spain.
The second train, heading to Huelva and operated by state-funded Renfe, was travelling at around 200 km per hour (124 miles/hour) at the moment of impact, reported El Pais.
It was unclear how fast the first train was travelling when it derailed.
The rail operator Iryo has said the last inspection of the train that derailed and then collided with another service in southern Spain was carried out on Thursday.
In a statement sent to the AFP news agency, the company said the train, built in 2022, left Malaga for Madrid with 289 passengers, four crew members, and one driver on board.
The operator said that at 7:45 pm local time (1845 GMT/UTC), and for reasons that remain unknown, the train entered the adjacent track near the town of Adamuz, where it collided with a train traveling in the opposite direction.
