At least 24 people died and 73 were injured after two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz in Córdoba province on Sunday evening, Spanish media reports.
The accident happened just before 19:40 when an Iryo train on its way from Málaga to Madrid, with 317 people on board, derailed with its three rear carriages at the entrance to Adamuz and crossed onto the neighboring track. There it hit a long-distance Renfe train which had left Madrid and was bound for Huelva. This too was derailed.
Among the injured are four minors, and the condition is serious for 15 of them. This is according to the president of Andalusia’s regional government, Juanma Moreno Bonilla
He cannot rule out that the death toll may rise in the next few hours because one of the carriages was heavily damaged in the accident. According to Moreno Bonilla, 170 people with minor injuries have been treated at the field hospital.
– Strange
Transport Minister Óscar Puente confirms that the two leading carriages on the Renfe train derailed. He did not want to speculate on the causes and referred to the accident as “strange” during a nightly press briefing, reports the TV channel RTVE.
The accident occurred on a straight section that was renewed in May 2025. 700 million euros have been invested in the track, which according to Puente should have been in perfect condition. The Iryo train that derailed was also relatively new and only about four years old.
One of the dead is the train driver on the Renfe train, according to sources in the Ministry of Transport.
Traffic stopped
Train services on the high-speed network between Madrid and Andalucía have been suspended, and Huelva will remain suspended at least until Monday.
The accident site is located in a steep and difficult to access area around four kilometers from the center of Adamuz. Access roads were closed to allow emergency services free access. The sports hall in Adamuz has been turned into a makeshift field hospital, and buses have transported uninjured passengers to Málaga, Seville and Córdoba.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a post on X that she was following “the terrible news” from Córdoba.
– Tonight you are in my thoughts, she wrote in Spanish.
