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A high-speed train collision killed at least 68 people in Spain on Wednesday when one train collided with another that had stopped on the tracks, derailing both trains and shredding at least two cabins.
The crash took place in Spain’s Castilla La Mancha, with the regional government confirming the death toll and adding that another 58 people required medical treatment in hospital. Rescue workers continue to search in the wreckage for survivors and bodies, with witnesses describing a gruesome scene.
Wednesday’s incident is the second high-speed rail crash Spain has suffered this year alone. Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the regional government, said the cause of the crash is not yet known.
Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said the crash occurred Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo. Both trains were carrying hundreds of passengers, headed in the same direction on a route from Madrid to Seville.
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One train, run by the state-owned RENFE company, ran into the tail of the other train owned by private company IRYO that had stopped, knocking two of its cars off the track. Those companies were the same ones involved in January’s crash.
Padilla said that 397 passengers were on the RENFE train and 147 passengers on the IRYO train.
David Gómez, a construction worker, was working with his brother and another colleague nearby when they heard the crash and ran to help, he told the newspaper El País.
“People were trying to get out through the windows…. We cut through some fences to access the area and treated people with the first-aid kits we had brought,” until emergency services arrived, he said. “As I was trying to pull a young woman out, there was a piece of a leg.”
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said that emergency workers were focusing on rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged train cars. She said that the injured are being sent to different hospitals in the area.
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“It was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” García said.
Passenger Ignacio Relaño was traveling on the RENFE train. He told state broadcaster TVE that the train had stopped momentarily on the line before it started again and then crashed into the IRYO.
“We all felt the train abruptly slowing down and then the impact,” he said. “The car leaned to one side like it was about to tip over. I hit my nose, everything went flying, luggage, cell phones. Everything shook.”
Another passenger recounted to Cadena Ser radio how she felt the train slam on the brakes and was thrown forward in her seat, breaking the small table in front of her. She said she saw body parts and trapped people covered in blood.
IRYO, an Italian-owned company, said in a statement that it has “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez canceled his agenda to focus on the crash. He wrote on X that he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo.”
“Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” wrote Sánchez, who faces a national election next month. “All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
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Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said in a short statement on X that they were following news of the accident.
“We are deeply saddened and concerned by the train accident in Urda (Toledo),” the royal couple said. “We share in the grief of the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and we send our heartfelt support to the injured and all those affected.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
