At least 10 dead after two trains collide in Spain

The number was expected to rise after the high-speed trains collided Wednesday near Toledo, central Spain.

At least 10 people were killed when two high-speed trains crashed into each other in central Spain on Wednesday, officials in the country said.

“That number will surely rise,” said Esther Padilla, spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region.

The accident took place just after 9 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in the country’s central Toledo province, ADIF, which manages Spain’s state-owned railway infrastructure, said in a statement on X.

The crash comes 10 months after a deadly crash in January between high-speed trains run by the same operators, Renfe and Iryo, on the same line between Madrid to Seville.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was “deeply saddened” by the accident. He added, that emergency services “are working on-site to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all relevant authorities.”

“My heartfelt sympathy, solidarity, and support go out to all the victims and their families,” Sanchez wrote on X.

Padilla told state broadcaster TVE that the two high-speed trains were heading in the same direction from Madrid to Seville when one ran into the tail of the other which had stopped on the line.

This caused two of the stationary train’s cars to be knocked off the track, she said. The cause of the crash was not known, she added.

Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda near the central city of Toledo, told TVE he had been asked by emergency services to prepare a sports hall to accommodate the injured.

Renfe also said on X that it had established an emergency phoneline to assist families of the victims.”

In January, 45 people died in southern Spain when a train jumped the track and hit an oncoming train. The crash was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people.

Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe for trains moving more than 155 mph, with more than 1,900 miles of track, according to the European Union.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

Hannah Peart contributed.