Transport Minister Óscar Puente says the death toll is “not definitive,” AFP reports, warning that the death toll could rise.
The accident occurred when a high-speed train en route to Atocha station in Madrid derailed on Sunday.
"At 19:45, Iryo train 6189 on the Málaga-Atocha route derailed at Adamuz, ended up on the oncoming tracks and caused Alvia train 2384 from Madrid to Huelva to derail as well," wrote train operator Renfe on X.
Difficult rescue work
The Iryo train is believed to have had around 300 people on board, while the Renfe Alvia train had around 180 passengers. Several derailed carriages are said to have been left in a state of disarray, making rescue efforts difficult.
Iryo is a challenger to Renfe in the Spanish high-speed network. The company is backed, among others, by the Italian Trenitalia.
"My deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the accident," wrote Renfe boss Álvaro Heredia.
Transport Minister Puente described the derailment as "extremely strange," according to Spanish media, as it happened on a straight stretch that was renovated as recently as last spring. The train that derailed was inspected as recently as Thursday, Iryo reported on Monday morning.
Sánchez to the accident scene
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit the scene of the accident on Monday, AFP reports. He has canceled all other commitments for the day.
The cause is therefore unclear. "It is difficult to grasp the extent of what happened. Rescue forces from Renfe continue to cooperate with authorities," Heredia added in a post where he also published photos from the scene of the accident.
Henrik Samuelsson/TT
Facts: Serious train accidents in Europe
TT
February 2023, Greece. A passenger train carrying 350 people en route from Athens to Thessaloniki collides head-on with an oncoming freight train. 57 people die.
January 2019, Denmark: Eight people are killed in an accident on the Great Belt Bridge when a train collides with a truck trailer that falls off a freight train in a storm. At least 16 people are injured.
July 2016, Italy: 27 people are killed and 50 injured when two trains collide head-on in the city of Andria.
February 2016, Germany: Eleven people die after two passenger trains collide head-on near Bad Aibling in Bavaria. 85 are injured.
November 2015, France: Eleven people die when a train derails north of Strasbourg.
July 2013, Spain: At least 77 die and around 140 are injured when a train derails near Santiago de Compostela.
March 2012, Poland: 16 die and 58 are injured in a head-on collision near Szczekociny.
February 2010, Belgium: 18 die when two trains collide at high speed at Buizingen near Halle.
