Spain Declares Three Days of Mourning After High-Speed Train Crash

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared three days of national mourning after a high-speed train accident claimed at least 40 lives.

Sánchez also pledged to investigate why two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain, as rescue teams continued to search the wreckage.

On Sunday evening, carriages of a train bound for Madrid derailed in Almodóvar del Río and veered onto another track, colliding with an oncoming train, injuring more than 120 people.

The crash is the worst the country has seen in more than a decade.

Rail network operator Adif said the collision occurred at 7:45 p.m. local time (18:45 GMT) on Sunday. It happened when a train traveling north from Málaga to Madrid derailed on a straight section of track near the city of Córdoba about an hour into its journey.

According to Transport Minister Óscar Puente, the force of the impact sent carriages of the second train tumbling down an embankment. He said most of those killed and injured were in the front carriages of the second train, which was traveling south from Madrid to Huelva.

Rescue teams said the twisted wreckage of the trains made it difficult to extract those trapped inside the carriages.

Sánchez visited the crash site on Monday afternoon with senior officials. He told reporters, “This is a day of mourning for all of Spain and for our entire country.”

“We will get to the truth, we will find the answers, and when the answers are known about the origin and cause of this tragic event, because it cannot be otherwise, with complete transparency and complete clarity, we will make it public.”

Puente said the investigation could take at least a month, describing the incident as “very strange.”

However, Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed source familiar with the initial investigation, reported that experts had found a faulty joint in the rail tracks, which was causing a gap between sections of rail to widen as trains passed over it. They said this joint was crucial to determining the cause of the accident. Spain’s El País newspaper said it was unclear whether the malfunction was the cause or a consequence of the crash.

Rail officials said the two trains were carrying 400 passengers and crew members. Emergency services treated 122 people, 41 of whom, including children, remain in the hospital. Twelve of them are in intensive care.

Puente said the death toll was “not yet final.” Authorities are working to identify the deceased. A spokesperson for Italy’s state-owned railway company, Ferrovie dello Stato, told Reuters that the train involved in the accident was a Frecciarossa 1000, which can reach top speeds of 400 km/h (250 mph).

RTVE journalist Salvador Jiménez, who was on the train, said the collision felt like an “earthquake.”

“I was in the first carriage. For a moment, it felt like an earthquake, and the train really did derail,” Jiménez said.

Footage from the scene showed some of the train’s carriages lying on their sides. Rescue workers could be seen climbing onto the train to help people escape through the twisted doors and windows.

A passenger bound for Madrid, José, told public broadcaster Canal Sur, “There were people screaming, calling for doctors.” All high-speed services between Madrid and the southern cities of Málaga, Córdoba, Seville, and Huelva have been suspended until Friday.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia said they were following news of the disaster with “great concern” and offered their “heartfelt condolences.”

The Andalusian regional emergency agency urged survivors of the crash to contact their families or post on social media to let them know they were alive.

The Spanish Red Cross has sent emergency support services to the scene and is also providing counseling to affected families.

“Families are going through a lot of anxiety due to the lack of information. These are very distressing moments,” Miguel Ángel Rodríguez of the Red Cross told RNE radio.

In 2013, Spain experienced its deadliest high-speed train derailment in Galicia, northwestern Spain, which killed 80 people and injured 140 others.

Spain’s high-speed rail network is the second largest in the world after China, connecting more than 50 cities across the country. Spanish rail lines stretch for more than 4,000 km (2,485 miles), according to Adif data.