MADRID: Spanish police said Monday that at least 39 people died in the high-speed train collision Sunday in southern Spain and rescue efforts were continuing.
The collision occurred when the tail end of a train traveling between Malaga and Madrid with some 300 passengers went off the rails near Cordoba at 7:45 p.m. It slammed into a train coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif.
Rescue efforts were still underway Monday morning. Andalusia regional President Juanma Moreno said 75 passengers were hospitalised, with most taken to Cordoba, about 390 kilometres (242 miles) south of Madrid.
The Spanish Red Cross set up a help center in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, offering assistance to emergency services and people seeking information. Members of Spain’s civil guard and civil defense worked on site throughout the night.
The disaster took place on a straight part of the track, which was completely renovated, Puente said, adding that the first train to derail was "practically new", making the accident "extremely strange".
Rail operator Iryo said around 300 people were on board its Malaga-Madrid service.
The hundreds of passengers left in the wreckage hampered the frantic work of emergency services.
"The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside," Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba, told public broadcaster RTVE.
"We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work," he added.
Some of the carriages had tumbled down an embankment of four metres, Sanz said at his press conference.
'A horror movie'
A passenger on the second train, bound for the city of Huelva, who gave only her first name Montse, told Spanish public television the train, "with a jolt, came to a complete stop, and everything went dark".
She described being thrown around in the last carriage and seeing luggage tumble on other passengers.
"The attendant behind me hit her head and was bleeding. There were children crying," she added. "Luckily, I was in the last car. I feel like I was given a second chance at life."
Survivor Lucas Meriako, who was travelling on the first train that derailed, told La Sexta television that "this looks like a horror movie".
"We felt a very strong hit from behind and the feeling that the whole train was about to collapse, break... there were many injured due to the glass," he said.
High-speed services between Madrid and the Andalusian cities of Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva would be suspended for the entirety of Monday at least, Adif announced.
Adif said spaces had been set up at stations in Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva to assist the relatives of victims.
The defence ministry said it was sending around 40 members of its emergencies military unit and some 15 vehicles to the site of the accident.
'Night of deep pain'
"Today is a night of deep pain for our country owing to the tragic rail accident in Adamuz," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X.
"No words can alleviate such great suffering, but I want them to know that the whole country is by their side in this tough moment," he added.
The royal palace said on X that Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were following the news "with great concern", offering "our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured".
French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen were among the world leaders offering condolences.
Spain boasts Europe's largest high-speed rail network, with more than 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, and Malaga.
In 2013, a high-speed train derailment outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela killed 80 people and injured more than 140 -- Spain's deadliest such tragedy since 1944.
(With inputs from AP, AFP)