Crash comes months after fatal accident involving same train operators in Spain

Collision near Toledo

The crash happened Wednesday morning near Toledo, in Castilla-La Mancha. A regional government spokesperson said at least 30 people had died, but spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the toll publicly.

Spain’s rail authority, Adif, said the trains were operated by Renfe and Iryo and were traveling on the Madrid-Sevilla route. Renfe said high-speed service from Madrid to Andalusia had been suspended.

Emergency response underway

Investigators from Spain’s Major Disaster Unit were also on their way. Blood donation groups urged people to go to hospitals in Toledo and Ciudad Real, saying supplies of all blood types were urgently needed.

Earlier deadly collision

The Toledo crash came months after two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz in southern Spain in January, killing 46 people. That disaster was the country’s worst rail accident since 2013, and it also involved the same carriers.

Passengers describe impact

Passengers described a severe impact that threw people from the dining car, broke limbs and left passengers piled on one another. Some climbed out through windows and lay in a nearby field, where local workers arrived with first-aid kits.

Videos from the scene showed damaged carriages, scattered bags and seats, and emergency workers tending to injured people. The crash was Spain’s third rail accident this year; a commuter train near Barcelona derailed in January after hitting a collapsed retaining wall, killing one person.