Death toll rises to 24 in Spain high-speed train crash

OVIEDO, Spain / ISTANBUL

At least 24 people were killed and 73 others injured Sunday night in a high-speed rail accident involving two trains in southern Spain, authorities confirmed.

Of the injured, 15 remain in serious condition, the Andalusia region's President, Juanma Moreno, announced, adding that medical teams had treated another 170 people for minor injuries at a field hospital, according to public broadcaster RTVE

The accident occurred around 7.40 pm local time (1840GMT) when a train traveling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, Cordoba, and encroached onto an adjacent track.

This caused a second train heading south from Madrid to Huelva to derail as well.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente confirmed on the US social media company X that the first two wagons of the second train were "thrown off" the tracks, acknowledging that reports from the scene were "very grave."

Of the injured, at least 25 remain in serious condition, according to authorities cited by public broadcaster RTVE.

Speaking to reporters early on Monday, Puente called the accident "strange," noting that it had occurred on a straight section of track that had been renovated in May with an investment of €700 million ($728 million).

He added that the track was "supposedly in perfect state" and the train was "relatively new" at just four years old.

Adamuz's Mayor, Rafael Moreno, was the first to arrive at the scene along with local police.

"I saw a passenger reduced to rags," Moreno told Spanish daily El Pais. "There was no light, it was nighttime. The scene is horrific."

The accident forced the suspension of high-speed rail traffic between Madrid and Andalusia, and officials confirmed the line would remain closed throughout Monday, Jan. 19.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez canceled his official agenda for Monday to monitor the emergency, while the government deployed military emergency forces to assist at the site.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Madrid region, stated that emergency teams and psychologists were being sent to Madrid's Atocha station to assist awaiting families.

Spain’s royal family also expressed "great concern" and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with Spain’s national radio RNE, was on board the train traveling to Madrid.

He told public broadcaster RTVE that one of the wagons on his train had “completely flipped.”

“We left Malaga on time ... There was a moment that felt like an earthquake and that’s when the train derailed,” he said, recounting the incident.

Jimenez described how passengers used hammers to break windows to escape and were eventually evacuated by emergency personnel.

Spain suffered one of its deadliest rail disasters in 2013, when a high-speed train traveling from Madrid to Galicia derailed, killing 79 people and injuring 179 others.