At least 21 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a train accident near Córdoba in southern Spain on Sunday night, the Spanish authorities said, reports the Guardian. At least 25 people were seriously injured.
Two trains derailed in the accident. One was the Iryo company’s flight from Málaga to Madrid, and the other was the Renfe company’s flight from Madrid to Huelva.
Photo: -UGC / @eleanorinthesky (via X) / AFP
Transport Minister Óscar Puente wrote on X: the last carriages of the train to the Spanish capital derailed first and overturned onto the tracks in the opposite direction, on which the other train had arrived. An eyewitness said: one of the cars of the first train completely overturned. Another passenger said the impact felt like an “earthquake”. An eyewitness posted on X that 10 minutes after departure the train started to shake and then the lights went out.
According to a statement from the Iryo company, more than 300 people were traveling on its flight.
They started rescuing the passengers, but according to on-site reports, several people were trapped and it was difficult for the rescue units to reach the accident site.
According to Adif, the operator of the Spanish railway infrastructure, the passengers of both trains had to be evacuated. The company suspended all train services between Madrid and Andalusia. Spanish public television (TVE) has learned that medical workers have been assigned to nearby hospitals.
In Spain, the most serious railway accident to date occurred in the summer of 2013 near Santiago de Compostela, in which 79 people lost their lives and 143 were injured, reports MTI.
