Toledo Rail Collision: 30 Dead After High-Speed Impact

At least 30 people died on Wednesday morning when a high-speed train struck the rear of another train that had stopped in central Spain. The collision occurred in the province of Toledo, derailing two cars and scattering debris across a gravel slope in a flat area between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes.

Spanish state-owned news agency EFE and other local media reported the death toll had reached 30. Initial reports from authorities listed 10 fatalities, but Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, told state broadcaster TVE that the number would likely rise. Padilla said the cause of the crash was not yet known.

Rail operator ADIF suspended service between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia following the accident. The two trains were traveling in the same direction from Madrid to Seville. Padilla stated that the RENFE train carried 397 passengers, while the IRYO train carried 147. Media reports indicated the RENFE service rammed the IRYO train, which had come to a halt.

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García told TVE that emergency workers were rescuing survivors and bodies from the two most damaged cars. She described the impact as high-speed and expected the event to be a tragedy. Injured passengers were being transported to various hospitals in the region. The mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said civil protection authorities asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to treat the injured.

A military emergency brigade joined firefighters, police, and other emergency services at the crash site. IRYO, an Italian-owned private rail company, said it activated security protocols and was working closely with authorities. The incident marks the second major train accident in Spain this year, following a January crash that killed 45 people and shook confidence in the country's high-speed rail network.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cancelled his schedule to focus on the response. He wrote on X that he was dismayed by the serious accident in Toledo and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families. Sánchez faces a national election next month. Emiliano García-Page, the regional president of Castilla La Mancha, said he was on his way to the crash site.