At least 21 people were killed and dozens more injured after two passenger trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday evening, authorities said, in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in recent years.
The crash occurred near the town of Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360 kilometres south of Madrid, when a high-speed train derailed and smashed into an oncoming train travelling on an adjacent track. The impact forced the second train off the rails and down a railway embankment, Spain’s interior ministry said.
Seventy-five people were taken to hospital, including 15 in serious condition, according to Juanma Moreno, the head of Andalucia’s regional government. Speaking early on Monday, Moreno warned that the death toll could rise as daylight allowed rescuers to continue searching the wreckage.
People affected by a deadly train derailment are transferred and treated at the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another approaching train near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
“The forcefulness of the accident has been very strong,” Moreno said. “We will likely find more corpses.”
The collision happened at 7:45 p.m. local time, about 10 minutes after the Iryo-operated train left Cordoba heading towards Madrid, authorities said. Rail network operator Adif said the Malaga-to-Madrid Iryo train derailed at Adamuz and crashed onto the adjacent track, where it struck a Renfe train travelling from Madrid to Huelva.
Video shared on social media showed rescuers pulling passengers from twisted carriages lying on their sides under floodlights. Some passengers climbed out through shattered windows, while others were carried away on stretchers. Emergency crews worked through the night, using heavy machinery to cut through mangled metal.
Todos los vídeos e imágenes que tenga estarán en este hilo. Si alguien tiene familiares y no puede contactar con ellos que me escriba por favor, aunque esto es una locura ahora mismo. pic.twitter.com/HyErECgYfj
— Carmen (@eleanorinthesky) January 18, 2026
Paco Carmona, Cordoba’s fire chief, said the Iryo train was evacuated within hours, but the Renfe train suffered severe damage. “There are still people trapped,” he told public broadcaster TVE. “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the cause of the crash was not yet known and described it as “really strange” that a derailment occurred on a straight section of track that had been renewed in May. Most of the fatalities and injuries were in the first two carriages of the Renfe Alvia train, which derailed on impact and plunged down the embankment, he said.
There were around 400 passengers on the two trains combined. The Iryo train was carrying more than 300 people, while the Renfe service had around 100 on board. Many were Spaniards travelling to and from Madrid after the weekend.
“There were people screaming, their bags fell from the shelves,” an unidentified passenger on the Renfe train told TVE. Another passenger, Maria San José, who was on the Malaga-to-Madrid train, told El Pais: “There are many injured. I am still trembling.”
A person affected by a deadly train derailment is transferred for treatment to the Caseta Municipal in the town of Adamuz, after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another oncoming train near Cordoba, Spain, January 18, 2026. REUTERS/Alex Gallegos TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
El Pais reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train was among those killed. The Renfe train was travelling at around 200 km per hour at the time of impact, the newspaper said. It was unclear how fast the Iryo train was travelling when it derailed.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country was in mourning. “Tonight is a night of deep pain for our country,” he wrote on X. Spain’s King and Queen were following developments with concern, a royal spokesperson said.
Local television showed a reception centre set up in Adamuz, a town of about 5,000 people, where residents brought food and blankets for stranded passengers as temperatures dropped to around 6 degrees Celsius. Tearful survivors were seen arriving by bus before being guided inside.
Rail services between Madrid and Andalucia have been suspended, Adif said. Renfe and Iryo both said they had activated emergency protocols and were working with authorities to support passengers and their families as rescue and recovery operations continued.
