Barcelona: At least 21 people were killed and several injured when a speeding train derailed and collided with another train coming from the opposite direction in southern Spain. Spain’s Transport Minister gave this information. According to rail operator ‘Edef’, there were about 300 passengers on board a train serving between Málaga and Madrid. It derailed near Cordoba at 7:45 pm local time, crossed another track and collided with another train headed from Madrid to Huelva, another city in southern Spain. There were about 200 passengers in this train. Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said that 21 people have died in this accident.
He said that a rescue operation was conducted and other passengers were evacuated safely. Puente said the death toll could rise. The Transport Minister said that the reasons for the accident could not be known. He termed it a rare incident as it occurred on a flat section of the track which was repaired in May. He also said that the train that derailed belonged to the private company ‘Erio’, while the other train belonged to Spain’s public train company ‘Renfe’.
Iryo issued a statement saying it “deeply regrets what has happened” and that the company is working with authorities to get the situation under control. Antonio Sainz, Andalusia’s regional health chief, said 73 injured passengers were taken to six different hospitals. Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spain’s national radio ‘RNE’ that a train had been badly damaged. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following the “terrible news” coming from Cordoba. “My thoughts are with you,” he wrote in Spanish.
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