At least 39 dead and nearly 200 injured after high-speed train collision in Spain
At least 39 people have died and 170 more have been injured in Spain following a high-speed train collision involving two services, resulting in a partial derailment.
Listen to this article
Railway operator ADIF said the 6189 service, travelling between Malaga and Madrid, had derailed at Adamuz station, near Cordoba, at 6.40pm on Sunday evening.
The train, which was carrying 317 passengers, left the tracks and ended up on an adjacent line, where it smashed into a passing service bound for Huelva.
Spain's emergency services said on Monday morning at least 39 people have been confirmed dead, with a further 75 hospitalised.
15 of those taken to hospital are in serious condition, four of whom are children, said Juanma Moreno, chief of Andalucia's regional government.
It is believed 170 people have been left injured in total.
Earlier, the Spanish interior ministry said the death toll had climbed to 21.
Read more: Eight killed as series of avalanches hit Austrian mountains
Read more: Ceasefire agreed in Syria as Kurdish forces fold into state control
The impact caused the first two units of the Huelva train to overturn, Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente said.
Mr Puente could not confirm the number of victims, but said the situation was "very serious".
It is not currently known how many people remain trapped, but images show rescue teams working in the dark to help passengers escape the wreckage.
Carriages can be seen lying on their side, while evacuated passengers sit beside the tracks.
Journalist Salvador Jiménez of Radio Nacional de España (RNE), who was on the train at the time, said the derailment felt "like an earthquake".
He added that at least one of the derailed carriages "had completely overturned" and had broken windows.
Another passenger said the train began 'shaking a lot' around 10 minutes after it departed the previous station before it derailed from car six backwards.
Iyro, the operator responsible for the derailed high-speed train heading to Madrid, confirmed on X that an accident had occurred on its service and said many of the passengers were able to walk away on their own after the incident.
"The service had departed from Málaga at 18:40 and, at the time of the incident, approximately 300 people were on board," said the statement.
"Iryo deeply regrets what has happened and has activated all emergency protocols."
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said he is "very concerned" about the accident, while the Spanish royal family said it following the incident "with great concern".
The Royal Household of Spain said in statement: "We continue to follow with great concern the serious accident between two high-speed trains in Adamuz.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, as well as our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured'.
All high-speed train traffic between Madrid and Andalusia has been cancelled until Tuesday because of the incident.
Trains that were already in transit have been sent back to their places of origin.
The Minister of the Interior for Andalusia has activated its emergency protocol and an emergency command station has been set up at Adamuz.
The field medical facility, set up during emergencies, is triaging injured passengers, offering healthcare services and stabilising the injured before they are transferred to hospital.