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Tragedy Strikes Spain: High-Speed Train Derailment Leaves Dozens Dead and Injured
ADAMUZ, SPAIN – A devastating high-speed train derailment in southern Spain on Sunday evening has resulted in at least 21 fatalities and left dozens more injured, some critically. The incident occurred near the town of Adamuz in Córdoba province around 6:40 p.m. local time, when an initial derailment led to a collision with a second train.
According to police sources and local media cited by Reuters, approximately 100 individuals sustained injuries, with 25 of them in serious condition. Among the deceased was one of the train drivers.
Spain’s national rail infrastructure operator, Adif, reported that the Iryo 6189 Malaga-to-Madrid train, a Freccia 1000 model carrying over 300 passengers, derailed and veered onto an adjacent track. This catastrophic event caused a second train, operated by Renfe and transporting around 100 passengers from Madrid to Huelva, to also derail.
The collision happened just ten minutes after the Iryo train had departed from Córdoba. A passenger on the Iryo train described the harrowing scene on social media, stating, “Ten minutes after departing, the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Videos circulating on social media showed emergency personnel actively assisting passengers, some of whom were seen climbing out of train windows to safety.
In the aftermath of the accident, rail services between Madrid and Andalusia have been suspended, according to Reuters.
This tragic event in Spain follows closely on the heels of another fatal rail disaster in Thailand just days prior, where at least 22 people lost their lives when a construction crane collapsed onto a moving passenger train, causing a derailment and subsequent fire.