Spain train tragedy: 21 dead as derailed high-speed train hits oncoming service

A highspeed train derailed jumped onto the track in the opposite direction and slammed into an oncoming train Sunday in southern Spain killing at least people 21 and injuring dozens more the countrys transport minister saidThe tail end of an evening train between Malaga and Madrid with some 300 passengers went off the rails near Cordoba at 745 pm local time and slammed into a train with some 200 passengers coming from Madrid to Huelva another southern Spanish city according to rail operator AdifSpains Transport Minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll to 21 confirmed victims after midnight when he said that rescues had removed all the survivors But Puente said there could be more victims still to be confirmedPuente said the causes of the crash were unknown He called it a truly strange incident because it happened on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May He also said the train that jumped the track was less than four years old That train belonged to the private company Iryo while the second train that took the brunt of the impact of Spains public train company RenfeIryo issued a statement saying it deeply lamented what has happened and that it was working with authorities to manage the situation According to Puente the back part of the first train derailed and crashed into the head of the other train knocking its first two carriages off the track and down a fourmetre slope He said the worst damage was to that front section of the Renfe trainWhen asked by reporters how long an inquiry into the crashs causes could take he said it could be a month Andalusias regional health chief Antonio Sanz said that 73 injured passengers have been taken to six different hospitals Francisco Carmona the firefighter chief of Cordoba told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was badly mangled with at least four wagons off the railsThe situation at the crash site is very serious Sanz said We have a very difficult night ahead Salvador Jimenez a journalist for Spanish broadcaster RTVE was on board one of the derailed trains and told the network by phone that there was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailedHe said passengers used emergency hammers to break the windows and that some had walked away without serious injuries Videos from people on site show some people crawling out of windows at some points to escape the wreckage with carriages leaning at an angleThe incident occurred in the early evening and hundreds of survivors had to be rescued in the darkness The regional Civil Protection chief Maria Belen Moya Rojas told Canal Sur the accident happened in an area that is hard to reach Local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims she saidHighspeed trains running on an extensive national network are a popular way to travel in Spain Spains military emergency relief units joined the deployment of other rescue units The Red Cross also provided support to healthcare officials European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following the terrible news from Cordoba Tonight you are in my thoughts she wrote in Spanish ADIF said train services between Madrid and cities in Andalusia would not run MondayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever