At least 64 people die in major Spanish train crash
Two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid on Wednesday morning, less than a year after the Adamuz train crash that killed dozens of people and shook Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government.
At least 64 people died and 58 people were injured in the crash, which took place near Urda in Toledo province just before 9 a.m. local time, emergency services in Castilla-La Mancha said on Wednesday afternoon. The toll has now exceeded that of the Adamuz crash, where 46 people died on Jan. 18.
Emergency services said a Renfe train rear-ended a stationary Iryo train, causing two Iryo carriages to fall down an embankment. Both trains were traveling between Madrid and Seville.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “dismayed” by the accident and sent his “solidarity and support” to the victims and their families. He said emergency services were working at the scene to help those affected and ensure their safety.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the People’s Party said he was “very worried” about reports of a new rail accident and that the priority now was to help the victims and support their families.
Santiago Abascal, leader of far-right Vox, also offered condolences to the victims’ families but turned his message to the government. “I will not rest until this government, which is a criminal organization, sits in the dock to answer for its crimes,” he said on social media.
The accident led the government, the PP, the PSOE and the left-wing Frente Amplio to cancel their main pre-campaign events ahead of the November 29 general election, with Vox as the exception. Abascal said he would not “use mourning to silence the complaints” in an interview Wednesday morning.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered her condolences on X, saying she had received the “devastating news” from Toledo and that “Europe mourns with you.”
The Adamuz accident drew sharp criticism of Sánchez’s government, with the PP accusing it of failing on rail safety and demanding that Transport Minister Óscar Puente answer for it. Sánchez, who stood by Puente, was later grilled in the Spanish parliament over the government’s response.
This is a developing story.