Spain is confronting its most severe rail disaster in over a decade following a catastrophic collision between two trains near the city of Córdoba on Sunday evening. The incident, which occurred at approximately 19:45 local time, has resulted in at least 39 fatalities and left 122 individuals injured, according to the nation’s Civil Guard.
The tragedy unfolded when carriages from a Madrid-bound Freccia 1000 high-speed train, which had departed from Málaga, derailed on a straight section of track. These carriages subsequently crossed into the path of an oncoming southbound service traveling from Madrid to Huelva. The force of the impact was so violent that it propelled carriages into a nearby embankment, creating a scene of devastating wreckage that hampered rescue efforts for hours.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente characterized the event as ‘extremely strange,’ noting that railway experts consulted by the government remain ‘extremely baffled.’ Initial reports indicate that the majority of casualties were concentrated in the front carriages of the second train. Among the 43 patients still hospitalized, four are children, with twelve adults and one child fighting for their lives in intensive care units.
Rescue operations were described as exceptionally challenging by first responders. Córdoba fire chief Francisco Carmona detailed to RTVE the grim task of extraction, stating, ‘We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work.’ A passenger aboard one of the trains, journalist Salvador Jimenez, likened the impact to an ‘earthquake.’
The human toll was immediately apparent, with passenger José describing a scene of chaos and desperate calls for medical assistance. In response, the Spanish Red Cross has deployed emergency support teams to provide both physical aid and psychological counseling to traumatized survivors and anxious families awaiting news.
International condolences have poured in from European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Domestically, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia expressed being following events ‘with great concern,’ while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez somberly declared a ‘night of deep pain’ for the nation.
All rail services connecting Madrid and the Andalusia region have been suspended indefinitely as a full investigation, expected to take at least a month, gets underway. The collision marks the deadliest incident on Spain’s extensive high-speed network—the world’s second-largest—since the 2013 Galicia derailment that killed 80 people.