At Least 39 Dead in Southern Spain Train Collision

At least 39 people died and dozens were injured January 18 evening when two trains collided in southern Spain. This marks the country’s worst rail disaster in more than a decade.

A Madrid-bound train derailed near Adamuz, crossed onto the opposite track and struck an oncoming locomotive, according to the Civil Guard. The impact occurred around 7:45 p.m. local time on a straight stretch of track near Cordoba.

Officials reported that 400 passengers and staff were on board the two trains. Emergency services treated 122 people at the scene. 48 people remain hospitalised, including five children. Eleven adults and one child are in intensive care.

​Transport Minister Oscar Puente described the incident as «extremely strange» and noted that government-consulted experts were «baffled» by the accident. Puente said the force of the crash pushed the front carriages of the second train into an embankment, causing most of the casualties.

The first train, carrying about 300 passengers, was operated by private company Iryo and was travelling from Malaga to Madrid. The second train, run by state-funded Renfe, carried about 100 people from Madrid to Huelva.

Rescue operations were hampered by twisted wreckage. Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told public broadcaster RTVE that responders had to remove bodies to reach survivors.

Rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended on January 19.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the nation faced a «night of deep pain».

The crash is the deadliest in Spain since 2013, when a high-speed derailment in Galicia killed 80 people and injured 140 others.