a serious accident railway that occurred this Sunday night in Spain left at least 39 people dead and about 150 injured.
The incident, which occurred in Adamuz, province of Córdoba, was caused by the derailment of an Iryo company train and its subsequent collision with another trainthis one from the public company Renfe, which circulated on an adjacent road.
The Iryo train, which had left Malaga at 6:40 p.m. (local time) bound for the Puerta de Atocha station in Madrid and with 317 people on board, derailed its last three cars at 7:39 p.m. in Adamuz, in the south of the country, in the community of Andalusia.
As it turned out, The cars invaded the parallel track on which an Alvia train was traveling at that time of Renfe bound for Huelva, which also derailed after the impact.
The Iryo cars collided with the first two Alvia cars, which were thrown and fell down an embankment of about four meters. The driver of the Alvia is among the fatalities.
After learning the unfortunate news, the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez canceled his trip to the Davos summit to go to the scene of the train crash. The kings of Spain, who are in Greece due to the death of Princess Irene, have also announced that they will move to the area of the accident.
For his part, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, traveled to Córdoba on his way to the accident site.
Already in Córdoba on the way to the accident site. The death toll now reaches 39 and is not definitive. I want to express all my gratitude for the enormous work of the rescue teams during the night, in very difficult circumstances, and my condolences to the victims and family… https://t.co/z4EBWF9fjM
— Óscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) January 19, 2026
A hundred injured
The death toll stood at 39, but authorities have warned that it could rise.
In addition to the deaths, it was reported 152 people injuredaccording to The Country.
The agency EFEfor its part, reported that emergency teams had treated 122 people, 48 of which were still hospitalized. Another 74 have been discharged.
Among those hospitalized, 12 were in Intensive Care: 11 adults and one minor.
Given the magnitude of the accident, the National Protocol for action in events with multiple victims was activated, reported the Spanish media.
The Institute of Legal Medicine of Córdoba will report to the Data Integration Center, which will be joined by experts from the Criminalistics Service of the Civil Guard for the identification of the deceased through fingerprints and DNA tests.
While work continues at the scene of the accident, in Madrid the Emergency Medical Service (SUMMA 112) has attended since dawn to passengers of the accident trains that have been arriving at the Atocha station in buses chartered by the companies.
Members of the rescue services, the Red Cross and psychologists authorized by the railway companies have assisted the travelers and their families, with the support of the Civil Protection and Emergency personnel at the Atocha Family and Victim Care Center.
Video | “Everything was flying, you didn’t have time to know what had happened. There were people who died at the moment, my companion next to me didn’t know where he was,” says a passenger affected by the derailment of two trains in Adamuz (Córdoba). https://t.co/4BSYHAB4E0 pic.twitter.com/jDZsFu25CI
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) January 19, 2026
Minister of Transport: it is a “rare and difficult to explain” accident
From Adamuz, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, reported early in the morning that the emergency teams would work throughout the night to recover the bodies, a complex task due to the state of the wagons.
“Some carriages have been left in a very deteriorated, very unfortunate situation. They tell me that this is a mass of ironwhich is very difficult. You have to use mechanical means and heavy machinery,” he explained.
He also indicated that 16 forensic doctors from the Institute of Legal Medicine of Córdoba will be in charge of identification work.
#RailAccident | More than 220 civil guards, belonging to Citizen Security, Traffic Group, GRS and Air Service units, continue working on the device after the train accident that occurred in #Adamuz #Cordova.
The Central team of… pic.twitter.com/8ZiiXL8eHW
— Civil Guard (@guardiacivil) January 19, 2026
The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, expressed his gratitude to the rescue teams and conveyed his condolences “to the victims and family in these terrible moments,” in a message on the X social network.
Puente described the accident as “rare and difficult to explain,” as it was a relatively new Iryo train, about four years old.and a recently renovated infrastructure, with works completed last May after an investment of 700 million euros. The accident also occurred on a straight stretch.
The Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) will be in charge of clarifying the causes of the derailment of the Iryo train that covered the Malaga-Madrid route and the subsequent collision with the Renfe Alvia.
Regarding the recovery of the high-speed service between Madrid and Andalusia, the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia indicated that it will take several days.
“The two Renfe cars are disintegrated, the work is going to take time.” […] The (high speed) service will be interrupted, this will last more than four days”he explained.
