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23 January 2026
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Two high-speed trains collide in Spain, 45 people killed, 292 injured
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A major collision involving two high-speed trains occurred in Adamuz in the province of Córdoba, Spain, on Sunday, 18 January 2026, resulting in 45 fatalities and hundreds of injuries. The incident happened when a high-speed Iryo train derailed and several of its carriages invaded the opposite parallel track, colliding with an oncoming Renfe train. The crash occurred on a straight section of the Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line near the municipality of Adamuz.
When the high-speed train derailed it pushed the second train off the tracks and down an embankment. Paco Carmona, Cordoba fire chief, told TVE that while the Iryo had been evacuated within hours of the accident, the Renfe carriages were badly damaged, with twisted metal and seats. "There are still people trapped. The operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow," he said. "We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task."
A makeshift hospital was set up at a sports centre in Adamuz to treat the victims. The Civil Guard confirmed the suspension of high-speed rail service between Madrid and Andalusia for 19 January, which was subsequently extended until 23 January. It also opened offices in Córdoba, Madrid, Málaga, Huelva and Seville for relatives of the missing and unidentified deceased to deliver DNA samples for identification. The stations of Madrid-Atocha, Córdoba–Julio Anguita, Seville–Santa Justa, and Málaga–María Zambrano remained open all night 18 to 19 January to accommodate the hundreds of passengers who could not take their scheduled trains. Iberia airline increased flights to Seville and Málaga to assist stranded travellers.
Forty-five people were killed and 292 others injured. Of the injured, 170 were treated for minor injuries and 122 others, including 15 in critical condition, were transported to hospital. By the following day, 79 people had been discharged. Among those killed in the crash was the driver of the Renfe train. Efforts were also made to find a missing dog that was travelling on the Iryo train with its owners. The dog was found alive on 22 January 2026 by forest firefighters.
The accident is the deadliest railway disaster in Spain since the 2013 Santiago de Compostela crash.
El Pais newspaper reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train, the one that was struck, was among the dead.
The collision triggered one of the largest coordinated emergency responses in recent Spanish memory. The 112 Andalusia Emergency Service was immediately alerted and mobilised first responders, including medical teams and firefighters.
Guardia Civil personnel secured the site, conducted safety operations and assisted in search and rescue efforts.
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) was dispatched with specialised rescue teams, vehicles and equipment to assist in extrication and stabilisation operations.
Local fire departments and civil protection units worked overnight to access carriages, treat the injured and ensure no survivors remained trapped under wreckage.
Medical and field operations
A field hospital and triage centre were set up near the crash site to provide immediate care to the injured before transport to nearby hospitals. Hospitals in Córdoba, Seville, Málaga, and Madrid received injured passengers, with critical care units activated for serious cases. Psychosocial and support teams from the Spanish Red Cross (Cruz Roja Española) offered counselling and assistance to families and survivors.
Coordination and logistics
Local and regional authorities activated the Andalusian Civil Protection Emergency Plan, coordinating transport resources, ambulances, air units and logistical support. The Adamuz municipal sports hall was repurposed as an auxiliary care and staging facility to evaluate and treat lightly injured passengers and support logistical needs.
There were around 400 passengers on the two trains, most of them Spaniards travelling back to and from Madrid after the weekend.
The second train, heading to Huelva and operated by state-funded Renfe, was travelling at around 200km per hour (124 miles/hour) at the moment of impact, reported El Pais.
Investigation and safety response
Spanish authorities launched an immediate and detailed investigation. The Rail Accidents Investigation Commission (CIAF) dispatched experts to the site within hours. They collected evidence from the track infrastructure, rolling stock and wreckage patterns. Early investigative findings suggest a pre-existing fracture in the rail may have initiated the derailment, though formal causes remain under review. Government officials have pledged full transparency, with ongoing forensic and technical evaluation of track materials, maintenance logs and signalling data.
Most casualties were in the first two carriages of the Renfe train, which held 37 and 16 people.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was travelling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said. The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted what had happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities.
Renfe said the derailment of its train had been caused by the Iryo train derailing into its path, adding that emergency services were still recovering passengers. Renfe said its president was travelling to the crash site and that it was working to support passengers and their families. Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalucia.
Sources: Reuters, AP News, El Pais News and others
When the high-speed train derailed it pushed the second train off the tracks and down an embankment. Paco Carmona, Cordoba fire chief, told TVE that while the Iryo had been evacuated within hours of the accident, the Renfe carriages were badly damaged, with twisted metal and seats. "There are still people trapped. The operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow," he said. "We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task."
A makeshift hospital was set up at a sports centre in Adamuz to treat the victims. The Civil Guard confirmed the suspension of high-speed rail service between Madrid and Andalusia for 19 January, which was subsequently extended until 23 January. It also opened offices in Córdoba, Madrid, Málaga, Huelva and Seville for relatives of the missing and unidentified deceased to deliver DNA samples for identification. The stations of Madrid-Atocha, Córdoba–Julio Anguita, Seville–Santa Justa, and Málaga–María Zambrano remained open all night 18 to 19 January to accommodate the hundreds of passengers who could not take their scheduled trains. Iberia airline increased flights to Seville and Málaga to assist stranded travellers.
Forty-five people were killed and 292 others injured. Of the injured, 170 were treated for minor injuries and 122 others, including 15 in critical condition, were transported to hospital. By the following day, 79 people had been discharged. Among those killed in the crash was the driver of the Renfe train. Efforts were also made to find a missing dog that was travelling on the Iryo train with its owners. The dog was found alive on 22 January 2026 by forest firefighters.
The accident is the deadliest railway disaster in Spain since the 2013 Santiago de Compostela crash.
El Pais newspaper reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train, the one that was struck, was among the dead.
The collision triggered one of the largest coordinated emergency responses in recent Spanish memory. The 112 Andalusia Emergency Service was immediately alerted and mobilised first responders, including medical teams and firefighters.
Guardia Civil personnel secured the site, conducted safety operations and assisted in search and rescue efforts.
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) was dispatched with specialised rescue teams, vehicles and equipment to assist in extrication and stabilisation operations.
Local fire departments and civil protection units worked overnight to access carriages, treat the injured and ensure no survivors remained trapped under wreckage.
Medical and field operations
A field hospital and triage centre were set up near the crash site to provide immediate care to the injured before transport to nearby hospitals. Hospitals in Córdoba, Seville, Málaga, and Madrid received injured passengers, with critical care units activated for serious cases. Psychosocial and support teams from the Spanish Red Cross (Cruz Roja Española) offered counselling and assistance to families and survivors.
Coordination and logistics
Local and regional authorities activated the Andalusian Civil Protection Emergency Plan, coordinating transport resources, ambulances, air units and logistical support. The Adamuz municipal sports hall was repurposed as an auxiliary care and staging facility to evaluate and treat lightly injured passengers and support logistical needs.
There were around 400 passengers on the two trains, most of them Spaniards travelling back to and from Madrid after the weekend.
The second train, heading to Huelva and operated by state-funded Renfe, was travelling at around 200km per hour (124 miles/hour) at the moment of impact, reported El Pais.
Investigation and safety response
Spanish authorities launched an immediate and detailed investigation. The Rail Accidents Investigation Commission (CIAF) dispatched experts to the site within hours. They collected evidence from the track infrastructure, rolling stock and wreckage patterns. Early investigative findings suggest a pre-existing fracture in the rail may have initiated the derailment, though formal causes remain under review. Government officials have pledged full transparency, with ongoing forensic and technical evaluation of track materials, maintenance logs and signalling data.
Most casualties were in the first two carriages of the Renfe train, which held 37 and 16 people.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was travelling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said. The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted what had happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities.
Renfe said the derailment of its train had been caused by the Iryo train derailing into its path, adding that emergency services were still recovering passengers. Renfe said its president was travelling to the crash site and that it was working to support passengers and their families. Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalucia.
Sources: Reuters, AP News, El Pais News and others
