Two high-speed trains have collided in Spain on the line connecting Madrid to Spain’s southern Andalusia region, rail operator Adif said on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people.
The collision comes nine months after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators on the same line that killed 46 people.
That crash in January, which occurred after a train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, triggered a debate about the level of investment in railway maintenance in recent years.
“Traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed rail line has been suspended following a rear-end collision between two trains,” Adif said in a message posted on X on Wednesday.
A Renfe and an Iryo train crashed just after 9 a.m. (0800 GMT), causing two Iryo wagons to derail, a government spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha region said, adding that the cause and number of injuries were still being determined.
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At least 10 people died in the collision, a regional government source said.
Footage by regional Castilla La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line.
Rail operator Adif said the incident occurred on the line from Madrid to Seville.
Manuel Galan, mayor of nearby town of Urda, told Cadena SER that emergency services had asked the town council to prepare emergency facilities, including a sports hall, to accommodate passengers and the injured.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s agenda, published on the Spanish government’s website, had been cleared for the day. The opposition People’s Party also cancelled all campaign events, a spokesperson said.