MADRID, Jan 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) –: The death toll from Sunday’s (Jan 18) collision between a derailing high-speed train and a second oncoming train in southern Spain has risen to 39, with 152 people injured, state broadcaster RTVE reported on Monday, citing police sources.
Spain’s interior ministry earlier said at least 21 people had been killed.
The accident happened near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360km south of the capital Madrid.
“The forcefulness of the accident has been very strong … we will likely find (more) corpses,” chief of Andalucia’s regional government, Juanma Moreno, told reporters early on Monday.
He added that heavy machinery would need to be used to remove the trains’ wrecked metal pieces and try to locate any new victims.
Video from the scene shared on social media showed rescuers pulling passengers from twisted carriages lying on their side under the glare of floodlights.
Some passengers climbed out of smashed windows, while others were wheeled away on stretchers.
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 kmh at the moment of impact, reported El Pais.
It was unclear how fast the first train was travelling when it derailed.
The cause for the crash is not yet known, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente told reporters at a press conference at Atocha station in Madrid, adding it was “really strange” that a derailment should have happened on a straight stretch of track. This section of track was renewed in May, he added.
“Tonight is a night of deep pain for our country,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X. His office said on Monday that the prime minister had cleared out his agenda for the day.
Spain’s king and queen were following the developments with concern, a spokesperson said.
Over 200 trains between Madrid and the southern Andalucia region – including major cities Cordoba, Seville and Granada – have been cancelled throughout Monday, according to RTVE. — NNN-AGENCIES