At least 64 people have been killed in a collision between two high-speed trains in the Spanish region of Úrda (as written in the source), while the rescue operation continues and more deaths are feared. It is the second deadly rail accident in Spain this year.
After the crash, passengers were pulled from the trains and moved to safety. Some passengers, bloodied and injured, made their way to the roadside, while volunteers provided water to the victims.
Hundreds of ambulances, helicopters and vehicles for transporting bodies are present at the site. Several train carriages derailed and fell down a slope, with debris and twisted metal scattered all around.
Miguel, a passenger on one of the trains involved, told a radio station that he suddenly felt a loud noise and a violent jolt lasting about 10 seconds. He said a wrecked train was visible from the right-side window of his train.
According to one account, a train of the private consortium Iryo had stopped near Toledo on the instructions of infrastructure manager Adif because of a signalling fault. A Renfe train then crashed at high speed into the stationary train, derailing several carriages of both trains.
Renfe said in a statement that its train hit Iryo’s stationary train after it had been given permission to proceed. The company said the reasons for the Iryo train’s stopping were not known.
Renfe said the actual causes of the crash, the state of train movements and the circumstances of the collision would be determined after an investigation. Iryo and Adif did not immediately respond.
