How gap in track could have caused horror Spanish train crash

Madrid: Spanish officials said at least 40 people have been confirmed dead in a high-speed rail collision in the country’s south when the tail end of a train jumped the track, causing another train speeding past in the opposite direction to derail.

Juanma Moreno, the president of Andalusia, the southern Spanish region where the accident happened, confirmed the new death toll in a press conference on Monday afternoon (Spain time). Efforts to recover the bodies from the two wrecked train cars continued, he said.

The impact tossed the second train’s lead carriages off the track, sending them plummeting down a four-metre slope.

Some bodies were found hundreds of metres from the crash site, Moreno said. He described the wreckage as a “mass of twisted metal” with bodies likely still to be found inside.

Experts said a faulty rail joint might be key to determining the cause of the crash, Reuters reported, citing a source briefed on initial investigations

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the crash. “Today is a day of pain for all of Spain,” he said on a visit to Adamuz, where many locals helped emergency services handle the influx of distraught and hurt passengers.

People reported climbing out of smashed windows, with some using emergency hammers to break the glass.

Andalusia’s regional emergency services said 41 people remained hospitalised, 12 of whom were in intensive care units. Another 81 passengers were discharged by late Monday.

Officials believe it could take weeks to work out how the collision between two trains happened on a straight stretch of track between Malaga and Madrid that was renovated in May. Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe, with trains that travel at more than 250km/h.

Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente called it “a truly strange” incident that could take a month to unpick.

He said the back carriages of a Madrid-bound train, with about 300 people on board, had derailed about 7.45pm on Sunday (Spain time) and crashed into an oncoming train heading for Huevla, with 200 people on board. The Madrid-bound train was four years old and operated by private company Iryo, while the other train was run by public company Renfe.

The first two carriages of the Renfe train were knocked off the track by the collision and down the slope. Puente said the worst damage was to the front section of that train.

Renfe president Álvaro Fernández told Spanish public radio RNE that both trains were well under the speed limit of 250km/h. One was going 205km/h, the other 210km/h. He also said that “human error could be ruled out”.

Experts studying the crash site found a broken joint on the rails, which created a gap between the rail sections that widened as trains continued to travel on the track, according to a Reuters.

That faulty joint could prove important in identifying the cause of the accident, the source said.

Adamuz Mayor Rafael Moreno told El Pais newspaper that he had been among the first to arrive at the scene alongside police, and saw what he believed to be a badly lacerated body several metres from the accident site. “The scene is horrific,” he said.

Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spanish national radio that one of the trains was badly mangled. Social media footage showed a section of one train lying tilted at an angle, with emergency workers attempting to rescue passengers through broken windows.

In comments to Spanish national TV, Carmona said rescuers were focusing on finding survivors and evacuating people from narrow areas of the wreckage. “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”

Puente said that all survivors had been removed from the train by midnight.

Regional Civil Protection chief Maria Belen Moya Rojas told television network Canal Sur the accident happened in an area that was difficult to reach, and local people took blankets and water to the scene to help the victims. Spain’s military emergency relief units joined other rescue units at the scene, and the Red Cross provided support to healthcare officials.

A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been on board the Iryo train to Madrid. “Ten minutes after departing [from Cordoba], the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”

Social media footage posted by another Iryo passenger showed a staff member in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in the darkened carriages, and those with first aid training to keep watch over fellow passengers. He also urged people to maintain their mobile phone batteries to be able to use their torches when they disembarked.

Iryo issued a statement saying it “deeply lamented what has happened” and that it was working with authorities to manage the situation. Renfe did not respond to a request for comment.

Australian officials were making enquiries with local authorities to determine whether any Australians have been impacted.

Iryo is majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said.

“Tonight is one of deep sadness for our country,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X. “I want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of the victims.”

Spain’s King Felipe VI said he and Queen Letizia were following the situation “with great concern”.

“We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured,” the royal palace said on social media.

Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for broadcaster RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.

Reuters, AP

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