No fewer than 21 people have been confirmed dead after a high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in Spain on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
The high-speed train pushed the second train off the tracks and down an embankment.
The accident occurred near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360 km (223 miles) south of the capital Madrid.
The chief of Andalucia’s regional government, Juanma Moreno, told reporters on Monday morning that 75 people were hospitalised, with 15 people in serious condition.
He said the death toll would likely be more than 21 and warned the number may rise by daylight.
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“The forcefulness of the accident has been very strong. Wee will likely find (more) corpses,” Moreno told Reuters, adding that heavy machinery would need to be used to remove the trains’ wrecked metal pieces and try to locate any new victims.
There were about 400 passengers on the two trains, most of them Spaniards travelling back to and from Madrid after the weekend.
It was unclear how many tourists could be onboard as January is not holiday season in Spain.
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