At least 30 dead in train accident in Spain – “People were thrown from the train”

At least 30 people were killed in a collision between two high-speed trains in Spain on Wednesday morning. This is confirmed by the spokeswoman for the government of Castile-La Mancha, Esther Padilla.

According to media reports, the accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. between the municipalities of Urda and Orgaz in the central Spanish province of Toledo. A high-speed train rammed another from behind as both were traveling south to Andalusia, Adif circles said. One of the trains belongs to the state railway company Renfe, the other to the private provider Iryo. Two carriages from one of the trains fell down a railway embankment, as can be seen in photos from the scene of the accident.

As “El País” reports, passengers in the dining car were thrown through the train. Just a few minutes after the collision, the first injured people made it to the adjacent field. The newspaper spoke to an eyewitness: "I was working on my laptop when I felt a violent acceleration and crashed into the seat in front of me," he said. "People were thrown from the train. We thought we had derailed."

Survivors supported the rescue workers. “We were just helping the rescue workers and holding IV bags with our hands,” the man said.

According to El País, eight trains were said to have come to a standstill in the area due to a safety system failure. They then received instructions to continue their journey - but the Iryo train did not, it stopped. According to initial analyses, an employee of the control center is said to have given the instruction for the Renfe train to continue its journey, even though the Iryo train was blocking the tracks.

Padilla stated that there were 147 passengers on the Iryo train and 397 on the second train.

The injured are receiving medical care. As “El Economista” reports, the regional government has activated the Platecan Level 1 disaster protection plan. According to the emergency number 112, Civil Guard, fire brigade, civil defense and the Red Cross are among those in action. The mayor of Urda, the nearest town, has set up an emergency shelter for the injured, the report added.

Rail traffic between Madrid and Andalusia was interrupted in both directions, as announced by the Spanish rail network operator Adif. The accident brings back memories of the serious train accident near Adamuz in Andalusia in January this year. At that time, an Iryo high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming Renfe train. 46 people were killed in the accident and more than 150 were injured.