30 Killed in Toledo Train Collision

Rail service between Madrid and the Andalusian region stopped on Wednesday morning after a high-speed train collided with another service in the province of Toledo. At least 30 people died in the impact, according to Spanish state media, marking the second major rail disaster in Spain this year.

Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, told state broadcaster TVE that authorities initially reported 10 deaths. She stated that the number would surely rise. The Spanish state news agency EFE later confirmed the toll had climbed to at least 30. The crash involved a state-owned RENFE train and a private IRYO train. Both were traveling in the same direction from Madrid to Seville.

Padilla explained that the RENFE train hit the rear of the IRYO train, which had stopped. The impact derailed two cars. The collision site lies in a flat area between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. One car was shredded into metal fragments, scattering debris down a gravel slope. Padilla said the cause of the crash was not yet known.

Spanish media reported that the RENFE vehicle rammed the IRYO train. The RENFE train carried 397 passengers, while the IRYO train carried 147. IRYO, an Italian-owned operator, said it activated security protocols and is working with authorities. Health Minister Mónica García told TVE that emergency workers are rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged cars. Injured passengers are being transported to various local hospitals.

García described the event as a high-speed impact, expecting the outcome to be a tragedy. A military emergency brigade joined firefighters, police, and other emergency services at the scene. Manuel Galán, the mayor of Urda, said civil protection authorities asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to treat injured passengers.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his schedule to focus on the incident. He posted on X that he was dismayed by the accident and that emergency services are attending to affected passengers. Regional president Emiliano García-Page also traveled to the crash site. Trains from RENFE and IRYO were involved in a January crash that killed 45 people in southern Spain.

That earlier incident was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people. Sánchez faces a national election next month. He wrote that his thoughts are with the victims and their families.