The two trains are said to have collided laterally.Image: screenshot x
At least 39 people have died in a serious train accident in southern Spain. The number has steadily increased in the past few hours.
Jan 18, 2026, 9:49 p.m01/19/2026, 07:47
At least 15 other people were seriously injured, regional president Juanma Moreno said in the early hours of the morning, visibly shaken. He did not rule out the possibility that there could be more bodies in the “heaps of metal rubble.” Rescue and evacuation work would continue throughout the night.
People are still being rescued and taken to the emergency room.Image: keystone
The tragedy had occurred hours earlier. At around 7.40 p.m. on Sunday, an Iryo high-speed train operated by the Italian company Trenitalia derailed near the municipality of Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, presumably traveling at 300 km/h, and crashed into the neighboring track, as the Renfe railway company announced. As tragic coincidence would have it, an oncoming Renfe high-speed train was passing there at just that moment and was thrown off the tracks by the other vehicle.
“Screams, crying children, blood”
“The impact was so violent that the two front cars of the Renfe train were thrown off the tracks,” said Transport Minister Óscar Puente. These wagons fell down a four meter high embankment and were largely destroyed.
A video shows the scene of the accident near Córdoba.Video: watson/x/@CanalMalagaRTV
The Iryo train was traveling from Málaga to Madrid with more than 300 people on board, while the Renfe train, which started in Madrid, traveled to Huelva with around 200 passengers. Traffic on the important route between Madrid and Andalusia should be suspended at least until this Monday. Many people who were affected by train cancellations due to the accident in various cities spent the night in train stations.
A young woman fought back tears in an interview with TV station RTVE as she described the nightmare she experienced in the Iryo train disaster.
“There was an emergency stop and it became pitch black. I fell headfirst out of the seat. People and luggage flew through the air, there were screams, crying children, blood. I feel like I’ve been reborn.”
Another passenger, journalist Salvador Jiménez, said: “It was like an earthquake.”
The royal family and von der Leyen express their condolences
According to official information, one of the train drivers was among the fatalities. Many passengers were still trapped in the trains hours after the accident. Fire department chief Paco Carmona spoke of a very difficult operation:
“It is a difficult area to access. The extent of the destruction was also great. Chaos, open fractures. Anything but beautiful.”
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised quick help. “Today is a night of deep pain for our country,” he wrote on Platform “This night you are in my thoughts,” she wrote on X in Spanish.
Tragedy raises questions
The cause of the accident initially remained unclear – the tragedy remains a mystery. “This is an extremely unusual accident,” said Minister Puente. “Straight route, a fairly new train, a section of the route that was recently renovated with an investment of 700 million euros.” We now have to wait for the results of the investigation.
Several experts interviewed by the media were equally astonished. The safety system should actually have prevented such an accident without the train driver intervening, said engineer Jorge Trigueros.
According to official information, there were still more than 70 injured people in a total of six hospitals early in the morning. Some would undergo emergency surgery that night, said regional president Moreno. No information was initially given about the identity or origin of the victims. Identification of the bodies should begin soon, Moreno said.
Psychological support
The Red Cross not only helped the affected passengers and train employees with psychological support, but also traumatized relatives and friends of the victims who waited in vain for their loved ones at Madrid’s Atocha train station or in Huelva.
Throughout Spain, but especially in Galicia, memories of a terrible accident on July 24, 2013 were awakened. A train derailed on a curve in Angrois a few kilometers from Santiago de Compostela at significantly excessive speed. 80 people were killed.
In view of the tragedy, grief and chaos, many people in the 4,000-strong community of Adamuz showed solidarity. Despite the late hour, volunteers brought blankets, medicine and food to the community center. Supermarket owner Rafaela immediately opened her shop and said in an interview with RTVE: “No one is sleeping here today!” (sda/dpa)