Tragedy struck last night in Andalusia, where at least 39 people died and dozens were injured in a train accident on the high-speed line linking Madrid to the southern region of Spain .
Two trains derailed near Adamuz station, near Cordoba . According to an initial reconstruction provided by Adif, Spain's railway infrastructure agency, the accident occurred at 7:39 PM when an Iryo train, traveling between Malaga and Madrid Puerta de Atocha, with 317 people on board, derailed at the entrance points to Calle 1 at Adamuz station, invading the parallel line, where another high-speed train on the Alvia (Renfe) state line, coming from Madrid and headed to Huelva, was traveling in the opposite direction .
"The impact was terrible, causing the derailment of the first two carriages of the Renfe train (Alvia)," declared the Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente, in a message on X.
Two or three carriages fell down a five-metre embankment which was difficult to access .
Puente described the accident as "extremely strange" as it occurred "on a straight stretch, on a recently renovated line" and involved a "practically new" Iryo train . "The condition of the railway was good," he reiterated, noting that 700 million euros have been invested in the infrastructure renovation on the Andalusia-Madrid line, with work completed in May.
The broken joint
According to an initial reconstruction, a joint broke, creating a gap between two sections of track that gradually widened as the trains passed. The first carriages passed while the gap widened until, upon reaching the eighth carriage, the derailment occurred. The eighth carriage also took the sixth and seventh with it. According to Reuters, the broken joint has been identified . Technicians on site, who analyzed the rails, found some wear in the joint between the rail sections, known as the junction plate, which, they believe, proves that the fault had been present for some time.
Thirty-nine bodies have been recovered so far, but the toll could rise further. Seventy-three people are currently hospitalized, 24 of them seriously injured , according to the latest reports. Overall, over a hundred people with minor injuries were treated at the field hospital set up last night by emergency services at the Advanced Medical Post in a building in Adif, Adamuz station.
(Unioneonline)