It was approaching 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, when two high-speed trains were heading south from the Spanish capital, Madrid, towards Seville.
One of the two trains, belonging to the state-owned "Renfe" company, was carrying 397 passengers, while in front of it on the same line was another train belonging to the private "Erio" company, carrying 147 passengers. A computer malfunction in the automated signaling system caused all trains on that section of track to stop.
Then the unthinkable happened, in the words of the Spanish Minister of Transport: the Renfe train was ordered to move forward, which later turned out to be a “mistake.”
As a result, the train collided with the back of another train in an area located between the towns of Mora and Urgaz, about 140 kilometers south of Madrid.
Some passengers were asleep, others started their work day using their laptops, while others were busy browsing their phone applications. The route was interrupted by an announcement of railway congestion; This continued for a few minutes, a short time for some, a little longer for others.
Tanguy Benier, 22 years old, was on the Erio train in the front carriage, number eight, while his father was in carriage number seven. Their train was one of six trains ordered to stop at 8:30. After a few minutes, "the train started to pick up speed," Benier told the BBC, "and then suddenly stopped."
Bennier looked out the window in confusion and saw “wires on the left side falling down, and then he saw a lot of smoke coming out the back.”
As for the Spanish journalist Roberto Gomez, he was falling asleep on board the Renfe high-speed train, which stopped more than 25 kilometers from Benier’s location. It was a short pause; The train resumed its journey minutes later, and then the accident occurred.
Gomez did not know that at 08:36, his train was ordered to continue the journey, and about 17 minutes later, what Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente described as “a truly incredible thing” happened.
Gomez told Onda Cero radio: “The collision was horrific. You can imagine, the vehicle was completely destroyed, and bags were scattered everywhere inside the destroyed vehicle.” Gomez suffered only minor injuries, but he stated that another passenger fell on top of him and suffered a deep wound to his head. He added: "We were able to help people who suffered severe blows to the chest and ribs."
As for Rafael Barcelo, he was in one of the most damaged vehicles. He suffered a bruise on his forehead and was considered one of the lucky survivors. He was drinking coffee at the time of the accident, and felt a "huge crash." He told Reuters news agency from the site of the accident: “It threw us all into the air. I am somewhat fine, but my friend is in much worse condition.”
He said, clearly shocked, "I was traveling in the seventh carriage, which is the carriage that witnessed the largest number of victims and was the most damaged. I counted at least eight victims in that carriage."
Even in the carriages furthest from the point of collision on the Renfe train, “everything was completely destroyed; the seats were ripped out of their places, and most of the passengers who were sitting in the direction of the train were blown into the air,” according to Salvador Arreaza. “It was brutal,” he said, describing the scene, noting that some people were “stuck between the seats.”
Once he got out, he realized how bad the situation was. He added: "What caught my attention was that part of the railway tracks penetrated the roof of one of the carriages, and I believe that this may have contributed to stopping the train or reducing its momentum."
Sebastian Herrero was traveling on the train that was hit from behind, with the "extremely horrific impact" causing him to be thrown into the front seats. He said: "After we fell, there were many people who had broken noses or arms, and we started to see smoke everywhere."
After the initial shock passed, the passengers in the carriage where Benier was in debated whether it was safe to exit, due to the electrical wires strewn outside the train. Some decided to leave, concerned about the possibility of a collision with another train.
"We didn't know what had happened until we stepped outside, where the effects of the disaster became apparent," Benier told the BBC. He added: "We saw the other train behind ours, and our train had completely overturned, while its rear part was filled with debris."
He continued: "When I got off the train, I was in a state of complete shock and amazement. There were people in danger, and the scene was very cruel, as I saw corpses and amputated limbs." “I don’t know if I will ever be able to recover from this experience,” he said.
But he pointed out that the rush of adrenaline prompted him and others who were not injured to provide assistance. Among them was his father, who, “Benier” explained, “was able to pick up a girl and move her to a safe place, despite suffering from a broken hip.”
The latest accident occurred on the same high-speed rail line, but much further south; This raised many questions from the authorities. Anger was evident among the affected passengers.
One of the passengers said: “It is unreasonable for our train to stop for five or ten minutes without informing the other train of the need to stop.” He added, wondering: “How could this happen with the technology we have? This is not normal. They did not tell us anything. The driver of the other train should have been informed; if that train had received a warning, there would not have been any problem. I do not understand how this happened.”
