Two high-speed trains collide near Urda in Spain, at least 64 dead

What happened near Urda

Two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday, 28 October, on the Madrid to Andalusia line near Urda in Toledo province, south of Madrid. According to sources at the rail network operator Adif, the Iryo train had come to a stop when the Renfe train behind it ran into its rear. Two carriages of the Iryo train derailed and tumbled down an embankment, according to the broadcaster RTVE. Reports place the crash shortly before 9 am, and Fanpage gave the exact time as 8:54, between Mora y Orgaz and Urda at kilometre 118.

Casualties and passengers

Early reports cited at least 30 dead, while the latest figures in the articles put the toll at no fewer than 64, according to authorities. Al Jazeera reported that the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, put the number of injured at at least 80 and warned the death toll could rise. NOS, citing hospitals, said at least 55 people had been admitted to hospitals in the region. Rescue teams had not yet reached the bottom of the derailed carriages, so the count could still change. Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, said 146 passengers and a baby were aboard the Iryo train and 397 people were on the Renfe train.

Iryo train (excluding a baby)146

Renfe train397

Iryo train (excluding a baby)

146 people

Renfe train

397 people

Data from the article text

Cause under investigation

The cause was still unclear in the initial reporting. Government sources cited by NOS said human error could be behind the crash. NOS, citing El Mundo, reported that Adif had ordered the Iryo train to stop because of a signal fault, that the Renfe train was travelling at more than 100 km/h, and that it had not received the information in time. El País said an initial inquiry also pointed to human error. Fanpage reported preliminary indications of an error at the Atocha control centre in Madrid, saying the centre may have told the Renfe train to continue despite a red signal, and it said the black boxes of both trains would be analysed in the coming days.

Government and EU response

Adif said rail traffic between Madrid and Andalusia had been halted in both directions, and El País reported that around 80 trains were cancelled later in the day. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X that he was shaken by the incident and offered sympathy and solidarity to the victims and their families. He said he remained in constant contact with the transport minister and the president of Castilla-La Mancha. Madrid's Interior Ministry ordered the military emergency unit UME to the site, and the Madrid blood transfusion centre appealed for donations, according to NOS. The European Commission's chief spokesperson said the EU was ready to help Spain in every way possible, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa also sent condolences.

Earlier crashes on the same network

N-tv described the crash as the second serious rail disaster in Spain within a year. It reported that 46 people died on 18 January when two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz on the Madrid to Seville route, with an Iryo train leaving Málaga for Madrid involved. Al Jazeera put the January toll at 45 and described it as Spain's deadliest rail crash since 2013, when 80 people were killed in a derailment. Two days after Adamuz, a retaining wall collapsed onto the tracks in Barcelona and a commuter train struck the debris, killing the driver and injuring dozens of passengers, according to N-tv. The government then agreed with rail unions to invest 1.8 billion euros in maintenance and safety and to create 3,650 jobs. Iryo is 51% owned by FS International, part of FS Italiane, according to Fanpage, with Air Nostrum holding 25% and Globalvía 24%.