Renfe and Iryo trains collide in Toledo, killing 10

Two high-speed trains collided early Wednesday in Toledo province, killing at least ten people and derailing two carriages. The accident occurred near Urda on the rail line connecting Madrid to Seville. Regional authorities confirmed the initial death toll while rescue operations continued.

Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, stated that the death toll would surely rise. She explained that the trains were traveling in the same direction when the moving train struck the stationary one. The collision involved a state-operated AVE service run by Renfe and a private train operated by Iryo. Padilla reported that 397 passengers were aboard the Renfe train and 147 were on the Iryo service.

Emergency responders from surrounding towns, three medical helicopters, and two mobile intensive care units arrived at the scene. El Pais reported that two carriages of the Iryo train fell down an embankment. Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda, said civil protection authorities asked the town to prepare a sports pavilion to house those affected. Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida announced on X that the capital was dispatching additional emergency medical teams and firefighters.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that he was shocked by the incident. He said he remained in contact with Transport Minister Oscar Puente and Emiliano Garcia-Page, the regional president of Castilla-La Mancha. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy's consulate in Madrid was checking whether any Italian nationals were among those affected and was ready to offer help.

ADIF, the rail infrastructure operator, suspended high-speed services between Madrid and Andalusia. The Civil Guard sent a specialist disaster investigation team to the site. The cause of the collision has not been established.

This accident follows a previous derailment in southern Spain nine months ago that killed 45 people near Adamuz. That incident was the country's deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people died.