At a Glance
- At least 39 people are dead after a high-speed train crash in southern Spain on January 18, 2025
- 48 passengers remain hospitalized, with 12 in intensive care
- Recovery teams expect the death toll to rise as wreckage is lifted
- Why it matters: The collision, on a recently renovated straight track, has shattered public confidence in one of Europe’s busiest rail corridors
A midnight collision between two passenger trains in Andalusia has become Spain’s deadliest rail disaster since 2013, with regional leaders warning the final casualty count will climb once heavy cranes lift the most damaged carriages.
The crash occurred at 7:45 p.m. local time when an Iryo high-speed service from Málaga to Madrid derailed on a straight section of track and smashed into the front of an oncoming Renfe Alvia train bound for Huelva. The impact hurled the first two cars of the Renfe train down a 13-foot embankment and scattered victims across hundreds of meters of countryside.
Rising Death Toll
Emergency crews confirmed 39 fatalities overnight, but Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian regional government, told Canal Sur Television that the number “won’t stay there.”
> “We may find more deceased individuals underneath, beside, or among the wreckage,” Moreno warned.
Civil Guard officers have established family-assistance offices in Seville, Málaga, and Madrid to speed victim identification. Sources told News Of Los Angeles that some bodies were thrown so far from the impact zone that recovery teams used drones to locate them.
Scene of Devastation
Photographs released by Spain’s Civil Guard show a tangle of crumpled steel along the normally busy Antequera-Granada line. The Iryo train’s rear carriage jack-knifed into the path of the Renfe locomotive, ripping the front section apart.
> “When you look at this mass of twisted iron, you see the violence of the impact,” Moreno said.
Of the 484 passengers aboard both trains:
- 48 remain in hospital
- 12 are in critical condition
- The Renfe driver was killed instantly
Investigation Begins
Minister of Transport Óscar Puente called the crash “a very strange accident.” The collision happened on a straight stretch renovated last May and equipped with Europe’s latest signaling system. The Iryo train, built in 2022, passed inspection only three days earlier on January 15.
Renfe president Álvaro Fernández de Heredia ruled out driver error, noting that onboard computers can override incorrect commands. Investigators have not yet released estimated speeds for either train.
What Comes Next
Heavy cranes are scheduled to lift the three most damaged carriages at 1 p.m. Monday, a maneuver officials expect will reveal additional victims. Railway safety regulators have opened a full technical inquiry; results are required within 30 days under EU law.
Moreno pledged to keep the public informed:
> “When the investigation ends we will know the cause and we will see how to prevent it from happening again.”
Both Iryo and Renfe have suspended all services on the affected route until further notice.
