First responders search through wreckage after two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz, near Cordoba, Spain on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
More than 20 people were killed and several other injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, the emergency services said on Sunday (January 18, 2026).
Antonio Sanz, regional Health Minister for the Andalusia province where the crash happened, said officials fear that the death toll may rise beyond that number.
Rescue operations are ongoing, he said, adding that 73 injured passengers have been taken to six different hospitals.
A train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto the other track where it hit an oncoming train, which also derailed, Spain’s ADIF rail body posted on X.
“We have received calls from people reporting that there were injured and trapped,” a spokesperson for the Andalusian emergency services told AFP.
A person exits a derailed train as first responders search through wreckage after two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz, near Cordoba, Spain on Sunday.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
One witness told public broadcaster TVE that one of the carriages of the first train had completely overturned.
The regional Civil Protection chief, María Belén Moya Rojas, told Canal Sur that the accident happened in an area that is hard to reach.
Local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims, she said.
ADIF said train services between Madrid and cities in Andalucia would not run on Monday (January 19).
“High-speed train services between Madrid and Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, and Huelva will be suspended during all of Monday,” ADIF said on X.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said on Sunday (January 18) they were following “with great concern” news of the train disaster.
“We are following with great concern the serious accident between two high-speed trains in Adamuz,” the royal palace said on X.
“We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured,” it added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following “the terrible news” from Cordoba.
“Tonight you are in my thoughts,” she wrote in Spanish.
Published – January 19, 2026 05:01 am IST
