Railway tragedy in Spain: Death toll rises to 39, more than 100 injured

Spain is experiencing one of the worst rail tragedies in recent years after the collision of two high-speed trains occurred Sunday night in the vicinity of the station of Adamuz, in the province of Cordoba. The accident has so far left 39 people dead and more than 120 injured, according to official data from the Andalusian regional government.

The accident occurred when a train of the private company Iryo, which was covering the route Malaga-Madrid, derailed on the turnouts at the entrance to track 1 and invaded the adjacent track, on which a Renfe Alvia convoy was traveling southbound. The impact was unavoidable and violent, leaving several wagons destroyed and dozens of passengers trapped in the wreckage.

About 300 people were on the Iryo train. So far, 48 injured remain hospitalized, including five minors and 12 patients in intensive care units, while 74 people have already been discharged from hospital.

Transport Minister: "Nobody knows the causes"

The Spanish Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, assured that after three hours on the ground, authorities have confirmed the gravity of the incident and its "terrible consequences." However, he stated that at this moment "nobody knows" the causes of the accident.

Therefore he has asked for "prudence" in the face of "hasty analysis" and "based on mere speculation," he said in a message on X.

Puentes assured in his writing that the number of deceased is not definitive.

Extensive emergency deployment

The Military Emergency Unit (UME) mobilized 40 troops and 15 vehicles, which joined the health services, firefighters and Civil Guard in the rescue work and identification of victims. The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, confirmed that the Railway Accident Investigation Commission will be in charge of clarifying the causes and that the Institute of Legal Medicine of Cordoba centralizes the identification of the deceased.

"We are facing an extremely complex mass of iron to move," said Moreno, who also announced the visit of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, to the site of the accident.

Suspended traffic and first hypotheses

The collision forced the suspension of high-speed trains between Madrid and Andalusia (Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva). The president of Renfe preliminarily ruled out human error and pointed to possible failures in Iryo's rolling stock or in the railway infrastructure.

This end becomes relevant in light of technical background in the area.

Services suspended:

A total of 98 Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo trains bound for southern Spain were canceled Monday as a result of the Adamuz accident, according to Adif sources.

Renfe suspended 72 connections, of them 58 AVE and 14 Alvia while Iryo and Ouigo have suspended 20 and six connections, respectively.

Sources by El Mundo consulted forecast that tomorrow, Tuesday, a high number of suspended trains will continue.

A section with a history of incidents

The Adamuz-Villanueva de Córdoba section, renovated in May 2025, had registered recurrent problems in the signaling systems, as recognized by the infrastructure manager, Adif.

In June, failures were detected in critical elements, including:

These incidents caused delays and led the Popular Group in the Senate to question the Ministry of Transport. Although the Government assured that the problems were corrected, new anomalies were recorded in September, October and December.

Vatican expresses the Pope's sorrow for the railway tragedy in Cordoba

Pope Leo XIV expressed his deep consternation on Monday after learning of the serious train accident in Adamuz (Cordoba), which has left a large number of victims and injured.

The message was transmitted by means of a telegram signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and addressed to the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Luis Argüello.

In the statement, the Pontiff raises prayers for the deceased and extends his most sincere condolences to their families, while expressing his spiritual closeness to the injured and wishing them a speedy recovery.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, also shared a terse message on his social networks following the accident lamenting the situation:

"Today is a night of deep sorrow for our country because of the tragic train accident in Adamuz. I want to express my most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims," Sanchez wrote on X.

The derailment in Adamuz is the most serious train accident in Spain since the Alvia incident in Angrois in which 79 people died in 2013. At least 156 people have died in train accidents in the country so far this century.