Rescue crews were desperately working through the night after two high-speed trains derailed in Spain killing at least 21 people and leaving dozens seriously injured.
The crash happened in Adamuz near Cordoba at around 6.40pm local time on Sunday when one train derailed and crossed over onto another track, with a second train then ploughing into the wreckage.
The trains – one travelling from Málaga to Madrid, the other from Madrid to Huelva and running on an adjacent line – both overturned as they travelled at high speed. One of the deceased was the driver of the Huelva-bound train, according to Spanish media.
The full scale of the incident is not currently known, although Spain’s interior ministry confirmed there were at least 21 deaths late on Sunday evening.
Officials said 75 people were in hospital with injuries, 15 of whom were in critical condition, in the early hours of Monday morning. Local reports say there are at least 100 people injured.
Local media also reported that 317 people were on the Madrid-bound train.
Many people remained trapped in the trains hours after the collision and horrifying footage showed rescue teams desperately working in pitch-black conditions to free those stuck.
‘The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside,’ Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba, told public broadcaster RTVE.
Horrifying footage showed rescue teams desperately working in pitch-black conditions to free those trapped in the trains that derailed in Adamuz near Cordoba
The full scale of the incident is not currently known, although authorities confirmed at least 21 people had died by Sunday night
Passengers wait in the hall of Madrid train station on January 18, 2026, following the announcement of the suspension of service due to an accident in which two trains derailed in Cordoba
‘We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work,’ he added.
One witness told RTVE that one of the carriages of the first train had completely overturned. Television images showed medical crews and fire services at the scene.
Journalist Salvador Jiménez of Radio Nacional de España (RNE), who was on the train, said the derailment felt ‘like an earthquake’.
He said the train’s crew immediately called out for medical personnel onboard to help the injured, adding that at least one of the derailed carriages ‘had completely overturned’ and had broken windows.
Passengers then began to exit the train as crew members grabbed hammers to force open the windows and door of the derailed carriages, he said.
Another passenger said the train began ‘shaking a lot’ around 10 minutes after it departed the previous station before it derailed from car six backwards.
And Lucas Meriako, who was travelling on the first train that derailed, told La Sexta television that ‘this looks like a horror movie’.
‘We felt a very strong hit from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse, break… there were many injured due to the glass,’ he said.
A large emergency response was mobilised, made up of dozens of ambulances, mobile ICUs and support vehicles, to treat the injured.
Firefighters from seven stations in the area were also dispatched.
The president of the Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said its hospitals were available to the Andalusia region if required.
The number of people still trapped in the wreckage of the two trains is still not known
Dozens of people are believed to have been seriously injured following Sunday’s crash
Officials said 75 people were in hospital with injuries, 15 of whom were in critical condition, in the early hours of Monday morning
Images on local television showed a reception centre set up for passengers in the town of Adamuz with locals leaving food and blankets amid night-time temperatures of around 6C.
ADIF and train operator Renfe have set up spaces at stations in Atocha, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, and Huelva to assist family members of the victims who may need it.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said in a post to X: ‘Tonight is a night of profound sorrow for our country due to the tragic train accident in Adamuz.
He added: ‘No words can alleviate such great suffering’.
Earlier he wrote: ‘Very concerned about the accident between two high-speed trains that have derailed in Adamuz (Córdoba).
‘The Government is working with the rest of the competent authorities and emergency services to assist the passengers.’
Spain’s transport minister, Oscar Puente, said information coming in about the crash on Sunday night was ‘very serious’.
In a post on X, he wrote: ‘The latest information coming in is very serious.
‘The last units of the Iryo train heading toward Madrid have derailed, with those cars invading the opposite track where, at that moment, a Renfe train heading towards Huelva was traveling.
‘The impact has been terrible, causing the first two units of the Renfe train to be thrown off as a result.
‘The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The fundamental priority now is to assist the victims.’
The fatal accident happened Adamuz near Cordoba at around 6:40pm local time
Ambulances gather at the Puerta de Atocha train station in Madrid, Spain, 18 January 2026
The King and Queen of Spain – who, at the time of the crash, were in Athens with their daughters for the Monday funeral of Princess Irene of Greece – have said they are following developments in the tragedy ‘with great concern’.
The Royal Household of Spain said in statement: ‘We continue to follow with great concern the serious accident between two high-speed trains in Adamuz.
‘We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, as well as our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.’
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, sent her ‘deepest condolences’.
In a post on X, she wrote: ‘I received the terrible news from Cordoba.
‘My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the railway accident and to the Spanish people.
‘I wish the injured a swift and full recovery. Tonight you are in my thoughts.’
French President Emmanuel Macron said: ‘A railway tragedy has struck Andalusia. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Spanish people. France stands by your side.’
All high-speed rail traffic between Madrid and Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, and Huelva will be suspended throughout Monday at least, per ADIF, Spain’s national rail network operator.
The cancellations of the high-speed trains left dozens at Madrid’s Atocha Station scrambling for alternative transport or last-minute accommodation.
Relatives of victims arrive at Huelva train station as they await information about their loved ones
ADIF and train operator Renfe have set up spaces at stations in Atocha, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, and Huelva to assist family members of the victims
El Mundo reported that queues at car rental offices at the station have long queues of weary travellers, while many are demanding buses to complete their journeys.
The crash came just months after three British nationals, Kayleigh Smith, 36, William Nelson, 44, and David Young, 82, were among 16 people who died in the Gloria funicular tram disaster in Lisbon when the streetcar derailed and crashed in the Portuguese capital.
In 2013, 79 people died after a high-speed train veered off the track on a sharp bend near the Spanish northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, slammed into a concrete wall and burst into flames.
Another 143 people were injured in Spain’s worst train crash in decades.
The Daily Mail has contacted the UK’s foreign office for comment.
