At least 64 people have been killed and 80 others injured after two high-speed trains collided in Spain, sending several passenger cars off the tracks and triggering a massive rescue operation as authorities warned the death toll could climb even higher.
The devastating crash unfolded shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday, October 28, near the town of Urda in Spain’s Toledo province, approximately 80 miles south of Madrid.
According to preliminary reports, a high-speed train operated by Spain’s state-owned Renfe railway company slammed into the rear of another train operated by private company Iryo, which had stopped on the tracks.
The impact was catastrophic, sending several passenger cars off the rails and down an embankment, leaving a trail of wreckage as emergency crews rushed to reach survivors.
The two trains were carrying a combined 544 passengers, including an infant, and were both traveling from Madrid toward Seville.
Regional government spokesperson Esther Padilla initially confirmed 10 deaths before the toll rapidly climbed to 30. By Wednesday afternoon, authorities reported at least 64 fatalities as rescue workers continued searching through the damaged carriages.
Castilla-La Mancha regional president Emiliano García-Page confirmed that approximately 80 people had been injured, including 50 who suffered moderate to severe injuries.
He warned that the number of victims could rise further because emergency teams had not yet been able to reach some of the most severely damaged sections of the wreckage.
Photographs and video from the scene showed twisted train cars scattered along the railway, with rescue workers searching through debris while helicopters and ambulances converged on the area.
One survivor, identified only as Miguel, described hearing an enormous crashing noise that lasted several seconds as the collision unfolded.
“We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds,” he told Spanish radio station COPE, recalling how passengers feared their train was about to derail.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed shock over the disaster and pledged the government’s full support to victims and their families.
Emergency services, firefighters and police were deployed to the scene, while a nearby sports hall was prepared to accommodate injured passengers and assist rescue operations.
The collision also forced authorities to suspend high-speed rail services between Madrid and southern Spain, disrupting one of the country’s busiest transportation corridors.
Investigators have not yet determined why the Iryo train stopped or what caused the Renfe service to collide with it. Spanish media have raised questions about a possible signaling malfunction, although authorities have not confirmed a cause.
The tragedy comes just nine months after another devastating train crash in southern Spain killed 46 people in January. That accident also involved trains operated by Renfe and Iryo, raising renewed concerns about railway safety.
As emergency crews continued their search Wednesday, officials warned that the full scale of the disaster might not be known until rescuers could access every damaged carriage.
With dozens dead, scores injured and families desperately awaiting information, Spain is confronting its second major railway tragedy in less than a year.
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