High-speed crash kills 30 in Toledo

At least 30 people died when a high-speed train collided with the rear of a stopped train in central Spain on Wednesday morning. Local media reported the toll rose from an initial count of 10. Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, stated that the number of victims would surely increase.

The accident happened in the province of Toledo on a flat stretch of track between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. Spanish rail operator ADIF confirmed the crash involved two high-speed trains traveling in the same direction from Madrid toward Seville. One train struck the tail of the other, which had already stopped. The impact knocked two cars off the track, leaving one car shredded into metal fragments and debris scattered down a gravel slope.

Spanish state media reported that a train operated by state-owned RENFE rammed a train operated by private carrier IRYO. Padilla said 397 passengers were aboard the RENFE train and 147 were on the IRYO train. The cause of the collision remained unknown at the time of reporting. It marked the second major rail disaster in Spain this year.

Health Minister Mónica García told state broadcaster TVE that emergency workers focused on rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged cars. She noted that the high-speed nature of the impact suggested a tragedy. Injured passengers were transported to various hospitals in the area. A military emergency brigade joined firefighters, police, and other emergency services at the crash site.

IRYO, an Italian-owned company, said it activated security protocols and worked closely with authorities. Manuel Galán, the mayor of Urda, said civil protection officials asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to treat injured passengers. Rail service between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia was suspended.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda to address the crash. He wrote on X that he was dismayed by the serious accident and that emergency services were attending to affected passengers. Regional president Emiliano García-Page said he was traveling to the crash site. Sánchez faces a national election next month.

In January, 45 people died in southern Spain when a train jumped the tracks and hit an oncoming train. That crash was the deadliest in the country since 2013, when 80 people died. The January incident involved trains from RENFE and IRYO, the same two companies involved in the Wednesday collision.