A tragic train accident has resulted in the deaths of at least 39 individuals and left many others injured after a high-speed evening service derailed.
This horrific event occurred in southern Spain near Cordova. The derailment involved one train veering off the track and crashing into another train traveling in the opposite direction. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the situation as a ‘night of deep pain.’
The train from Málaga to Madrid, carrying 300 passengers, was the first to derail. It then collided with another service traveling from Madrid to Huelva, causing the second train to derail and tumble down an embankment.
The accident happened at approximately 6:40 pm local time on Sunday, just about 10 minutes after the high-speed train had departed from Malaga towards the capital. Spanish media report that the second train was traveling at 124mph when it was struck by the derailed Malaga-Madrid train.
One of the passengers recounted their experience: “There were people screaming, their bags fell from the shelves. I was travelling to Huelva in the fourth carriage – the last, luckily.”
Following the crash, many injured individuals were trapped in the mangled remnants of the carriages. The rescue operation was challenged by both the number of casualties and the complexity of the search area.
Cordoba’s chief of fire, Paco Carmona, informed local media: “There are still people trapped. The operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow.”
He further stated: “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”