At least 10 people were killed Wednesday when a high-speed train crashed into the back of a stationary train in central Spain, derailing two carriages, authorities said.
Esther Padilla, a spokesperson for the Castilla La Mancha regional government, confirmed the death toll at 10 but warned that it was expected to increase.
The collision marked Spain’s second major train accident of the year.
Rail operator ADIF said the crash happened Wednesday morning in Toledo province. Train service was halted along routes connecting Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia.
Padilla told state broadcaster TVE that two high-speed trains, carrying hundreds of passengers, were traveling from Madrid toward Seville in southwestern Spain. One train struck the rear of the other after it stopped, sending two carriages off the tracks. The cause remained unknown.
Emergency services attend to victims at the scene of a collision between two trains in Urda, Spain, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Juanma Jiménez/Europa Press via AP)
The collision took place on a flat, rural stretch between Urda and Los Yébenes, surrounded by farmland. One carriage was torn apart, with twisted metal and other wreckage strewn down a gravel embankment.
Health Minister Mónica García said rescue crews were concentrating on reaching survivors and recovering bodies from the two most severely damaged carriages. Those injured were being transported to hospitals across the region, she told TVE.
“This was a high-speed impact, so we are expecting this to be a tragedy,” García said.
The scene of a collision between two trains in Urda, Spain, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Juanma Jimenez/Europa Press via AP)
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Single Mom Found Dead Beneath Kansas Bridge in Suspected Tragic Accident
The trains belonged to Spain’s state-run RENFE and privately operated IRYO. Spanish media reported that the RENFE train appeared to have struck the IRYO service. Trains operated by both companies were also involved in a fatal crash in January.
Padilla said 397 people were aboard the RENFE train, while the IRYO train carried 147 passengers.
IRYO, which is owned by an Italian company, said it had “activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities.”
Manuel Galán, the mayor of nearby Urda, told TVE that civil protection officials had asked the town to ready a sports pavilion for injured passengers.
A military emergency response unit joined firefighters, police and other rescue workers at the scene.
Passengers wait at Santa Justa station in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, following a train accident near Urda, Toledo, on Oct. 28, 2026. The collision between a Renfe AVE train and an Iryo train suspended services on the Madrid-Andalusia high-speed line, causing two carriages of the Iryo train to derail. (Europa Press via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez cancelled his scheduled events to deal with the disaster. In a post on X, he said he was “dismayed by the serious train accident in Toledo.”
“Emergency services are working on site to attend to the affected passengers,” Sánchez wrote. “All my thoughts are with the victims and their families.” Sánchez is facing a national election next month.
Castilla La Mancha President Emiliano García-Page said on X that he was traveling to the crash site.
The latest tragedy follows a January crash in southern Spain that killed 45 people after one train derailed and collided with an oncoming train. It was the country’s deadliest rail accident since 2013, when 80 people died. That earlier crash, along with the January disaster, has raised concerns about public confidence in Spain’s extensive high-speed rail network.
KEEP READING: Who is David Prevatte: Trial and Key Evidence in NC Case