High-speed train derailed, jumped onto the track in the opposite direction and crashed into an oncoming train on Sunday in southern Spain Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll but said more victims could be confirmedThe crash happened in an area that is hard to reach- locals were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victimsIreland’s Department of Foreign Affairs not aware of any Irish citizens involved
The tail end of an evening train from Malaga to Madrid with around 300 passengers went off the rails near Cordoba at 7.45pm and slammed into a train with 200 passengers coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif.
Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll to 21 after midnight when he said rescuers had removed all the survivors. The death toll was updated again shortly after 6am this morning, this time to 39 people.
Emergency responders work at the site after a high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train, near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, Spain, January 18, 2026 in this screengrab taken from a social media video. @ibuprofeno600mg via X/via REUTERS
Andalucia regional president Juanma Moreno said 75 passengers were in hospital, with most taken to the nearby city of Cordoba, including 15 people with serious injuries.
The Spanish Red Cross set up a help centre in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, offering assistance to emergency services and people seeking information.
Members of Spain’s Civil Guard and Civil Defence were also on site working in the cold, cloudless night. Only emergency services were allowed to approach the crash site.
Mr Moreno said emergency workers would work all night to remove bodies from the wreckage.
Emergency responders work at the site after a high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train, near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, Spain, January 18, 2026 in this screengrab taken from a social media video. @ibuprofeno600mg via X/via REUTERS
“We have a very difficult night ahead,” Andalusia’s regional health chief Antonio Sanz said.
Mr Puente said the cause of the crash was 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.
An emergency responder speaks to the people in a carriage of the train, after the high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train, near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, Spain, January 18, 2026 in this screengrab taken from a social media video. @ibuprofeno600mg via X/via REUTERS
That train belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second train, which took the brunt of the impact, was part of Spain’s public train company Renfe.
Iryo issued a statement saying it “deeply lamented what has happened” and that it was working with authorities to manage the situation.
People affected by a deadly train derailment are transferred and treated at the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another approaching train near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos
According to Mr 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 four-metre slope. He said the worst damage was to the front section of the Renfe train.
A person affected by a deadly train derailment is transferred for treatment to the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another oncoming train, near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos
When asked by reporters how long an inquiry into the crash’s cause could take, he said it could be a month.
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 derailed”.
He said passengers used emergency hammers to break the windows, and that some had walked away without serious injuries. Videos from the scene show people crawling out of windows to escape the wreckage with carriages leaning at an angle.
The crash occurred in the early evening near the village of Adamuz and hundreds of survivors had to be rescued in the darkness.
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 rails.
People wait behind the police cordon area, where people affected are transferred and treated at the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another approaching train near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos
The regional Civil Protection chief, Maria Belen Moya Rojas, told Canal Sur the crash happened in an area that is hard to reach. She added that local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims.
Spain’s military emergency relief units joined the deployment of other rescue units. The Red Cross also provided support to health care officials.
“Tonight is one of deep sadness for our country,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X. “I want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of the victims.”
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Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also expressed their condolences and concern on social media.
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.
News in 90 Seconds, Monday January 19
Victims
A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been on board the Iryo to Madrid. “Ten minutes after departing (from Cordoba) the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Footage posted by another Iryo train passenger, also on X, showed an Iryo staffer in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in the darkened carriages, and those with first aid training to keep watch over fellow passengers.
Men assist a woman affected by a deadly train derailment as other victims are transferred and treated at the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another approaching train near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos
The staffer told passengers they would be evacuated when it was safe to leave, but at that moment the safest place was on the train. He also urged people to maintain mobile phone batteries to be able to use their torches when they disembarked.
The passenger wrote: “In our carriage we’re well but we don’t know about the other carriages. There’s smoke and they’re calling for a doctor.”
People affected by a deadly train derailment receive treatment at the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another oncoming train, near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos
Locals posted on social media that a building would be set up in the village nearest the crash for evacuated passengers to be taken to.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.
Jimenez told TVE by phone from beside the stricken trains that passengers had used emergency hammers to smash the windows and climb out, and they had seen two people taken out of the overturned carriages on stretchers.
“There’s a certain uncertainty about when we’ll get to Madrid, where we’ll spend the night, we’ve had no message from the train company yet,” he said. “It’s very cold but here we are.”
In a statement to the Irish Independent, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they are “aware of the tragic incident”.
” To date, the Department, including officials at Embassy Madrid, is not aware of any Irish citizens involved, but is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide consular assistance if required,” they said.
Additional reporting: PA