At least 30 people died on Wednesday when one high-speed train struck the rear of another that had come to a stop in central Spain, derailing two of its cars, authorities said.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha gave the figure to the Agence France-Presse news agency, saying the death toll had risen to 30. Spain's rail operator ADIF said the collision happened in the morning in the province of Toledo. Train service between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia was suspended.
Speaking to state broadcaster TVE, an official identified in the source only as Padilla said both trains were high-speed services traveling in the same direction, from Madrid to Seville. One of them ran into the tail end of the other while it was stationary, pushing two of its cars off the track. Padilla said the cause of the crash had not been determined.
The trains belonged to two different operators: the state-owned company RENFE and the private company IRYO. According to Padilla, 397 passengers were aboard the RENFE train and 147 were on the IRYO train.
Manuel Galán, mayor of the nearby town of Urda, also spoke to TVE and said passengers had been injured. He said civil protection authorities had asked the town hall to prepare a sports pavilion where passengers could receive care.
Emiliano García-Page, the regional president of Castilla-La Mancha, wrote on X that he was on his way to the crash site.
Trains run by RENFE and IRYO were also involved in a deadly accident in January. In that case, 45 people died in southern Spain when a train left the track and struck an oncoming train. It was the deadliest rail accident in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people, and it shook public confidence in the country's extensive high-speed rail network.
