Daijiworld Media Network - Madrid
Madrid, Oct 28: At least 46 people were reportedly killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday, with fears that the death toll could rise further, local media reported.
The accident involved a Renfe AVE service and a private Iryo train. Emergency services were alerted at 8.54 am local time following the violent collision near the train station in Urda.
The Castilla-La Mancha 112 emergency service said firefighters from Alcazar de San Juan and Orgaz, Civil Protection teams from surrounding municipalities and three medical helicopters had been deployed to the site to search for survivors and provide assistance to the injured.
According to Spain-based publication Sur in English, local authorities had reported at least 39 fatalities.
The trains were carrying a combined 544 passengers, according to Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha. The Iryo train had 146 passengers and a baby on board, while the Renfe train was carrying 397 passengers, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.
The cause of the collision remains unknown, the regional government spokesperson said.
According to the Ministry of Transport spokesperson, preliminary indications suggested that the AVE train may have rear-ended the Iryo train, causing two carriages of the latter to derail and fall down an embankment, the report said.
Following the accident, rail traffic on the high-speed corridor between Madrid and Andalusia was completely suspended from 8.54 am local time on Wednesday. The disruption also affected medium-distance high-speed services.
In a statement posted on X, Iryo said all services departing from Atocha station and heading towards the southern corridor had been suspended because of the accident. The company did not provide an estimate of when services would resume, El Pais reported.
Iryo said it had activated “all emergency protocols” and was “collaborating closely” with the authorities to manage the situation.
Renfe also confirmed the suspension of railway services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.