Footage shows aftermath of deadly train derailment in SpainYour support helps us to tell the story
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At least 39 people have been killed after a high-speed train derailed and crashed into an oncoming train, pushing it off the tracks, in Spain on Sunday.
There were around 400 passengers on board the two trains and dozens were injured in the incident. Of the 75 people hospitalised, 15 remained in serious condition, officials said early on Monday.
The driver of one of the trains, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva, was among those who died.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga – (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was travelling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” said Adif, which runs the rail network, in a social media post.
Adif said the accident happened at 6.40pm local time, about 10 minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading towards Madrid.
Spanish transport minister Oscar Puente said the crash was “very serious”, adding: “The impact has been terrible, causing the first two units of the Renfe train to be thrown off as a result.”
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez cleared his schedule for Monday to address the tragedy.
‘Shouting’ and ‘terror’ during crash, say eyewitnesses
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with state television channel TVE, said: “I was travelling in carriage one of the Iryo train. Suddenly there was a crash. Then there was ten seconds of shouting, terror.
“We heard a message over the megaphone and a medic came through the carriage towards carriage five. They smashed the window with an axe. We saw the other train which had been hit. It was on its side. I thought ‘My God’ what has happened here.”
Maira Butt19 January 2026 09:32
Missing woman’s husband says ‘she almost missed the train’
Relatives were desperately searching for their loved ones in a makeshift field hospital set up in Adamuz, the small town near Cordoba which was the scene of the crash.
Ramon Monton had only spoken to his wife Tamara Margarita Valdes, who is Cuban, shortly before both trains collided on Sunday night.
“I still have not been able to find her. I am very nervous,” he told El Pais newspaper. Valdes was one of 184 passengers travelling from Madrid to the southern city of Huelva when the crash happened.
“The irony is she almost missed the train,” Monton added.
The crash was the worst train accident since 2013, when a train derailed in the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela and burst into flames, killing 80 people and injuring another 145.
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 09:25
Spanish PM cancels trip to Davos
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday due to the accident in Adamux.
Sánchez was scheduled to meet with Donald Trump and Javier Milei where he planned to deliver a speech opposed to the right-wing leaders.
Maira Butt19 January 2026 09:20
‘Everyone was screaming’: Passenger describes crash horror
A shocked woman, who was on the train heading to Huelva, told TVE: “When the crash happened, everyone started to scream, the bags fell down from above.
“Then we sat there and we did not hear anything for a while. I was sitting in carriage four – at the back – luckily. Or it might have been worse. I have a bad neck but nothing worse.”
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 09:16
One train cleared of passengers as rescue efforts ongoing
Andalucia’s regional government’s health authority has said that one train has been cleared of passengers, according to Spanish outlet RTVE.
“Rescue teams have reached the third carriage” of the Alvia train.
They added that there could be “an undetermined number of fatalities, a figure that could be high.”
Maira Butt19 January 2026 09:05
Mayor says he helped people out of train ‘with my own hands’
Rafael Moreno, mayor of Adamuz, the town where the crash happened, was at a centre where relatives are waiting for news of their loved ones.
“I took part in the rescue last night, helping people out of the train with my own hands,” he told TVE, the state-run broadcaster.
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 08:56
In pictures: Site of deadly collision between two high-speed trains 
(REUTERS)
(REUTERS)
(Reuters)
(REUTERS)
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 08:42
Mapped: Where did the crash take place?
A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks and down an embankment.
The accident happened at 7.45pm near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360km south of the capital Madrid.
An Iryo-operated train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed, sending multiple carriages across onto the other tracks. These were then hit head-on by a Renfe train travelling from Madrid to Huelva, sending it careering down a railway embankment.
Mapped: Two trains collide and derail in south of Spain (Independent)
The Iryo train had more than 300 passengers on board, while the Renfe train had around 100.
The crash took place 10 minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading towards Madrid, authorities said.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga – (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was travelling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” Adif, which runs the rail network, said in a social media post.
Maira Butt19 January 2026 08:35
‘Everyone started to scream’: Passenger recounts horror of crash
A shocked woman, who was on the train heading to Huelva, told TVE: “When the crash happened, everyone started to scream, the bags fell down from above.
“Then we sat there and we did not hear anything for a while. I was sitting in carriage four – at the back – luckily. Or it might have been worse. I have a bad neck but nothing worse.”
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 08:28
Civil Guard sends out special team to identify victims
Spain’s civil guard has sent out a special team to confirm the identities of the victims who have not yet been identified.
At least 39 people have been killed and over 122 treated in hospital for injuries.
Members of the Spanish Civil Guard, along with other emergency personnel, work next to one of the trains involved in the accident, at the site of a deadly derailment of two high-speed trains near Adamuz, in Cordoba, Spain, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Susana Vera (REUTERS)
Graham Keeley (in Madrid)19 January 2026 08:27