Spain's Madrid-Seville rail link halted after rear-end collision kills ten

Ten people died in a railway collision in central Spain on Wednesday, according to regional authorities. The accident occurred near Urda in Toledo province, involving a moving high-speed train that struck the rear of a stationary service on the line connecting Madrid to Seville. Officials from the Castilla-La Mancha region stated that the death toll would likely increase as rescue operations continue.

The collision involved a state-run Renfe AVE service and a private Iryo train. Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the regional government, told public broadcaster TVE that 397 passengers were aboard the Renfe train while 147 were on the Iryo service. She noted that both trains were traveling in the same direction when the impact occurred. Emergency sources reported that two carriages from the Iryo train fell off an embankment, leaving two carriages derailed.

Local and national authorities mobilized a large-scale response to the scene. Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda, said civil protection officials requested that a local sports pavilion be prepared to shelter affected individuals. Firefighters from surrounding towns, three medical helicopters, and two mobile intensive care units were deployed to the site. Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida, the mayor of Madrid, announced on X that the capital was sending additional emergency medical teams and firefighters to assist.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed shock over the incident on X, noting he was in contact with Transport Minister Oscar Puente and Emiliano Garcia-Page, the regional president. Garcia-Page’s administration confirmed the initial casualty figures while rescue crews worked to clear the debris. The infrastructure operator ADIF suspended all high-speed rail services between Madrid and the Andalusia region following the crash. A specialist disaster investigation team from the Civil Guard was sent to the site to determine the cause, which had not yet been established.

The event marks a second major rail disaster in Spain within a year. It comes nine months after a derailed train struck an oncoming service near Adamuz in southern Spain, killing 45 people. That previous incident was the country’s deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people died. The current toll places the Urda crash as the second-deadliest in recent Spanish rail history.

International officials began monitoring the situation for potential foreign casualties. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated on X that the Italian consulate in Madrid was checking if any Italian nationals were among those affected. The consulate confirmed it was ready to offer assistance to families of any confirmed victims. Rescue efforts continued through Wednesday with the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville remaining closed to traffic.