High-Speed Trains Collide in Spain, at Least 64 Dead

At least 64 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Oct. 28, regional authorities said.

The collision happened near Urda, Toledo, and led to the suspension of the line connecting Madrid to southern Andalusia.

Local television footage showed a derailed train with several carriages still on an elevated section ‌of track while twisted metal, broken panels, and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line.

The confirmed death toll of 64 is more than double the 30 fatalities previously reported by the Castilla-La Mancha regional government earlier on Oct. 28.

Esther Padilla, a regional spokeswoman, said 147 people had been traveling on the Iryo train and 397 on the Renfe train.

The collision comes nine months after an accident between high-speed trains belonging to the same operators ​on the same line that killed 46 people.

Spain’s state-owned railway infrastructure manager, Adif, told Spain’s EFE news agency on Oct. 28 that it had not yet identified the cause but was examining its systems and putting together the sequence of events.

Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said in an Oct. 28 post on X that he is “trying to obtain all the possible information” regarding what happened.

Spain is gearing up for an election on Nov. 29.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s agenda, published on the Spanish government’s website, had been cleared for Oct. 28. The opposition People’s Party also canceled all campaign events, a spokesperson said.

“Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo,” Sánchez said.

Miguel, a passenger traveling with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains, told COPE radio: “We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail. Through the right-hand window, we could see a wrecked train.”

The accident has cut off high-speed rail traffic between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation postponed the ​24 Copa del Rey ‌first-round matches on Oct. 28 following the collision.

The games have been postponed “as ‌a ⁠show of respect and solidarity with all the victims,” the federation said, adding ​that ​new ⁠dates for the matches will be announced ​soon.

European leaders expressed solidarity with Spain after the crash.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was devastated by the news, extending condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones.

“Today, Europe mourns with you,” she said in an Oct. 28 post on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot also expressed support for Spain. 

The regional government raised its emergency response and requested assistance from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit, which allows for additional resources to be mobilized.

At least 40 people died after a high-speed train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train in southern Spain on Jan. 18. The high-speed train traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near Córdoba and struck a second train traveling from Madrid to Huelva.

Reuters, Victoria Friedman, and Evgenia Filimianova contributed to this report.