At least 46 people were killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain’s Toledo province on Wednesday.
Railway operator Adif said that the trains were travelling in the same direction between Madrid and Andalusia when they collided at around 9 am local time.
A state-owned Renfe AVE train hit the back of an Italian-owned Iryo train. Both were on the Madrid to Seville route, which is popular with tourists and commuters.
Two carriages of the Iryo train derailed and fell down an embankment between the towns of Los Yébenes and Urda. Emergency services are working at the scene.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha has confirmed 30 deaths. Civil Protection sources told foreign media outlets that the toll has passed 46 while Spanish media have reported the same figure. Authorities fear the number could rise.
According to foreign media outlets, a human error caused the crash. Reports said that a worker repairing a fault in the main signalling system failed to warn the AVE train about the Iryo train ahead of it. Officials, however, have not confirmed the cause.
Adif suspended traffic on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cleared his agenda for the day and the opposition People’s Party cancelled its campaign events ahead of next month’s elections.
The crash comes less than nine months after 46 people died in a collision between two high-speed trains near Adamuz in Andalusia in January.
