At least 21 people died and more than 70 were injured as a result of the collision of two high-speed trains on Sunday in southern Spain, in the province of Cordoba, Andalusia, reported the Spanish Ministry of Transport, according to LETA citing AFP and AP.
The accident occurred when the last cars of the Malaga–Madrid train derailed near Adamus and collided with an oncoming train traveling from Madrid to Huelva, reported the Spanish railway infrastructure company Adif.
At least 75 people were injured, 15 of them seriously.
There were about 300 people on the Malaga–Madrid train, operated by the private company Iryo, and approximately 200 people on the Madrid–Huelva train, operated by the state railway company Renfe.
Spain's Minister of Transport Oscar Puente stated that the cause of the accident is still unknown. He described the incident as a "truly strange" accident, as it occurred on a flat section of track that had been repaired in May. The minister also noted that the derailed train was less than four years old.
According to Puente, the last cars of the Malaga–Madrid train derailed and crashed into the front of the Madrid–Huelva train, causing the first two cars of the latter to be thrown down a four-meter slope. The minister added that the front part of the Madrid–Huelva train sustained the most damage.
Adif reported that high-speed train services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, and Huelva have been suspended and will not be restored at least until Monday. Facilities have been organized at the train stations in these cities to assist the relatives of the deceased.
Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe, where trains reach speeds of over 250 kilometers per hour. The total length of the railway tracks exceeds 3,100 kilometers.
The largest railway disaster in Spain in the 21st century occurred in 2013 when 80 people died as a result of a train derailment in the northwest of the country. An investigation found that the train was traveling at a speed of 179 kilometers per hour in a section where the speed limit was 80 kilometers per hour.
Condolences to the families of the deceased were expressed by King of Spain Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze wrote on the X platform that Latvia expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and the people of Spain.
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