At least 40 dead in southern Spain train collision, one of Europe’s worst in 80 years

At least 40 people have died in southern Spain after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming train on Sunday night, marking one of the most devastating railway accidents in Europe in 80 years.

Twelve people were in intensive care following the crash near Adamuz, located in the province of Córdoba, around 360 km (223 miles) south of Madrid, according to emergency services. Experts suggest that a faulty rail joint may be crucial in determining the cause of the accident.

"The train tipped to one side... then everything went dark, and all I heard was screams," said Ana Garcia Aranda, 26, who was being treated at a Red Cross center in Adamuz. Limping and with plasters on her face, she recounted how other passengers pulled her from the train, covered in blood. Her pregnant sister was rescued from the wreckage by firefighters, and both were transported to the hospital.

"There were people who were fine and others who were very, very badly injured... you knew they were going to die, and you couldn’t do anything," she said.

So far, authorities have filed 43 missing persons reports at police stations in Huelva, Madrid, Málaga, Córdoba, and Seville.

The collision occurred in a hilly, olive-growing region, accessible only by a single-track road, making it challenging for ambulances to reach the area, according to Iñigo Vila, the national emergency director for the Spanish Red Cross.

President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, confirmed that at least 40 people had died, while emergency teams faced challenges in bringing the heavy equipment needed to lift the wreckage and free those still trapped beneath it.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and Transport Minister Óscar Puente visited the crash site on Monday.

Drone footage from the police showed the two trains, which were carrying a total of 527 people, coming to a halt about 500 meters apart. One of the train’s carriages was split in two, while the locomotive was crushed like a tin can.

Investigators examining the crash site found a broken rail joint that created a gap between the sections of track, which widened as the trains continued to travel over it. This faulty joint could prove pivotal in determining the cause of the crash, according to a source familiar with the initial investigation.

Ignacio Barrón, head of Spain’s Commission of Investigation of Rail Accidents (CIAF), told RTVE: "What always plays a part in a derailment is the interaction between the track and the vehicle, and that is what the commission is currently (looking into)."

Paqui, a local resident of Adamuz who rushed to help, described the scene: "He found a dead child inside, another child calling for his mother. You’re never ready to see something like this."

Police set up an office in Córdoba for relatives to provide DNA samples to help identify the deceased.

The Iryo train was traveling at 110 km/h from Málaga to Madrid when it derailed, according to Renfe President Álvaro Fernández Heredia. Twenty seconds later, a second train, traveling at 200 km/h toward Huelva, either collided with the rear two carriages of the Iryo train or with debris on the tracks. The Iryo train lost a wheel that has not yet been found.