At least 40 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Sunday, in one of the country's deadliest rail disasters in recent decades.
The collision occurred in the early evening near Zamora, a city in northwestern Spain approximately 250 kilometers from Madrid, according to Reuters, citing Spanish state broadcaster RTVE.
Emergency services reported that dozens of additional passengers sustained injuries, with at least 15 people in critical condition being transported to hospitals in Zamora and Valladolid. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to search the wreckage.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed condolences to the victims' families and announced that he was cutting short a visit to Brussels to return to Madrid and coordinate the government's response. "Spain is in mourning," Sánchez wrote on social media. "All our support to the families and those injured in this terrible tragedy."
Preliminary reports suggest both trains were operating on Spain's high-speed AVE network, which connects major cities across the country at speeds up to 310 kilometers per hour. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the collision, though Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said authorities were examining whether a signaling failure may have contributed to the crash.
The collision occurred on a straight section of track, raising questions about how two trains traveling in opposite directions could have ended up on the same line. Spanish rail operator Renfe said in a statement that both trains had passed all required safety checks before departing their respective stations.
