At Least 30 Dead in Spain High-Speed Train Rear-End Crash

A high-speed train operated by RENFE struck the rear of an IRYO train that had stopped on Wednesday in the province of Toledo, killing at least 30 people and injuring at least 80, according to Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha. García-Page said the death toll could rise.

The two cars that left the track were carrying passengers traveling from Madrid to Seville, Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for Castilla La Mancha, told state broadcaster TVE. Padilla said the RENFE train held 397 passengers and the IRYO train held 147 passengers. IRYO is an Italian-owned company that began operating in Spain in 2022.

The crash occurred on a flat stretch of track between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. One car was reduced to metal fragments, with debris scattered down a gravel slope. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told TVE that emergency crews were working to recover survivors and bodies from the two most damaged cars, and that the injured were being taken to hospitals across the area. "It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy," García said.

Padilla said the cause of the crash was not known. ADIF, Spain's rail system operator, said rail service was suspended between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia after the accident. García-Page said 24 of the dead were aboard the RENFE train and six aboard the IRYO train.

The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, told TVE that civil protection authorities asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion for injured passengers. A military emergency brigade was deployed alongside emergency services, firefighters and police. IRYO said in a statement that it had "activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda and wrote on X that he was "dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo." Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said on X that they were following news of the accident and shared "the grief of the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives."

The crash in January killed 45 people in southern Spain when a train left the track and struck an oncoming train. That incident was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people.

Spain has laid roughly 3,900 kilometers of high-speed track over more than three decades for its 49 million residents, according to the International Union of Railways, which defines high-speed rail as track for trains running at 250 kph and above. Only China has more high-speed track.