Spain began three days of national mourning after a high-speed train collision near Adamuz in the southern province of Córdoba killed 41 people and injured more than 120, authorities said. Investigators are focusing on a suspected faulty rail joint as they work to determine why the crash occurred on a straight section of track where both trains were within the speed limit.
The crash happened Sunday when an Iryo service traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, about 360 kilometers south of the capital, crossed onto the opposite track and struck an oncoming Renfe train bound for Huelva. Both trains derailed. Police drone footage showed the wrecked trains coming to a stop roughly 500 meters apart, one carriage split in two and a locomotive crushed. In all, 527 people were aboard the two trains, officials said.
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Emergency services said at least 12 people were in intensive care. Regional officials reported that dozens of the injured remained hospitalized in Córdoba as rescue crews worked through mangled carriages using heavy machinery to reach survivors and recover victims.
“This is a day of sorrow for all of Spain,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during a visit to Adamuz, announcing the mourning period and promising a full accounting. “We will uncover the answer, and once the cause of this tragedy is determined, we will present it with absolute transparency.”
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the crash site Monday, speaking with first responders amid twisted rail and debris. Flags flew at half-staff across the country, including at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, as families searched for loved ones, some posting photos and pleas on social media.
Investigators have found a broken joint on the rails that created a gap between sections of track, widening as trains continued to pass, according to a person briefed on the initial probe. The joint’s failure “could prove important” to identifying the cause, the source said.
Human error has been “practically ruled out,” Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia told public radio RNE. He also dismissed speeding, noting data indicate both trains were traveling just over 200 km/h, below the 250 km/h limit for that stretch. “It must be related to Iryo’s rolling stock or an infrastructure issue,” he said.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente called the crash “extremely strange,” pointing out the first train was “practically new” and the track segment had been recently renovated. Iryo said its train was built in 2022 and last inspected three days before the accident, adding it “veered onto the adjacent track for still unknown reasons.” The company said about 300 people were on board its Málaga-Madrid service; Renfe said its train carried 184 passengers.
For survivors, the impact and aftermath were sudden and harrowing. “The train tipped to one side—then everything went dark, and all I heard was screams,” said Ana García Aranda, 26, who was being treated at a Red Cross center in Adamuz. Another passenger, Lucas Meriako, told La Sexta television the scene looked “like a horror movie,” describing shattered glass and the fear the train “was about to collapse.”
Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, cautioned it could take 24 to 48 hours to confirm the final death toll as authorities comb the wreckage and reconcile passenger manifests. The disaster is Spain’s deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people were killed after a train derailed outside Santiago de Compostela.
Spain operates Europe’s largest high-speed rail network, with more than 3,000 kilometers of dedicated track linking major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Málaga. Messages of condolence poured in from abroad, including from Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and extended sympathies to victims’ families and first responders.
Authorities said the findings of the investigation will be made public. For now, Spain is in mourning as families wait for answers and crews continue the painstaking work at Adamuz.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
