The trains operate between the capital, Madrid, and Andalusia in the south. Pictures show derailed train carriages lying below the embankment, on their sides and among twisted pieces of metal, as well as crushed carriages leaning on the rails.
At least 46 people have died, ABC reports, citing Spain’s Civil Guard. Several other media outlets report at least ten deaths, but note that government officials warn the toll is likely to rise considerably.
Several ambulance helicopters are reportedly at the scene, along with fire crews and other rescue services.
“The human factor”
The accident occurred in the municipality of Urda, south of Toledo, in a sparsely populated area just over ten kilometres south of Madrid. It happened at around half past eight in the morning.
One of the high-speed trains had left Madrid about half an hour earlier and was heading towards Seville in Andalusia. Both trains were heading south, according to the authority responsible for Spain’s railway traffic.
One train hit the other from behind and, according to Cadena SER, one of the trains had stopped on the tracks for an unknown reason. Sources cited by El País point to human error in traffic management.
Several previous accidents
The trains are said to belong to the rival companies Renfe (state-owned) and Iryo (privately owned), whose trains travel at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour on these routes.
The accident follows several serious train accidents in Spain in recent years. In January this year, more than 40 people died in a collision in Adamuz, Andalusia. A high-speed train travelling from Malaga on the south coast to Madrid derailed and crashed into another train.
The country’s worst-ever train accident took place in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, in the summer of 2013, when a high-speed train derailed on a curve. Seventy-eight people died and around a hundred were injured.
The Spanish government has cancelled all planned commitments on Wednesday because of the incident.
