Latest news At least 39 dead in Spain after train crash
Following the serious rail accident in the south of Spain, the number of fatalities has risen to at least 39. This was reported by the state TV station RTVE, citing the Guardia Civil police unit.
19.01.2026, 08:16
SDA
According to the report, a total of 73 people were treated in hospitals in the Andalusian city of Córdoba following the collision. Among them were 24 with serious injuries. According to the RTVE report, four of them were minors.
The tragedy had occurred hours earlier. At around 7.40 p.m. on Sunday, an Iryo high-speed train operated by the Italian company Trenitalia allegedly derailed at 300 km/h near the municipality of Adamuz in the province of Córdoba and crashed into the adjacent track, according to the railroad company Renfe. Just at this point, an oncoming Renfe high-speed train was passing by and was thrown off the tracks by the other vehicle.
"The impact was so violent"
"The impact was so violent that the two front carriages of the Renfe train were thrown off the tracks as a result," said Spain's transport minister Óscar Puente. These wagons tumbled down a four-meter-high embankment and were largely destroyed.
The Iryo train was traveling from Málaga to Madrid with more than 300 people on board, while the Renfe train, which had started in Madrid, was traveling to Huelva with around 200 passengers. Traffic on the important route between Madrid and Andalusia was interrupted.
Royal Family and von der Leyen offer their condolences
According to official information, one of the train drivers is among the fatalities. Numerous passengers were still trapped in the trains hours after the accident. Fire chief Paco Carmona spoke of a very difficult operation: "It is an area that is difficult to access. The extent of the destruction was also huge. Chaos, open fractures. Anything but beautiful."
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez assured rapid assistance. "Today is a night of deep pain for our country", he wrote on the X platform. In addition to the royal family in Madrid and many others, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also expressed her condolences to the families and relatives of the victims as well as the Spanish people. "You are in my thoughts this night", she wrote on X in Spanish.
