Police block the way to the scene of train derailment in Adamuz, Spain, January 19, 2026. [Xinhua]
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced three days of official mourning following a train crash in southern Spain that has killed at least 40 people.
The accident occurred at around 7:45 p.m. local time (1845 GMT) on Sunday, when a train carrying 317 passengers on the Malaga-Madrid route derailed for reasons still unknown near Adamuz, about 20 km north of the city of Cordoba.
As of Monday, authorities had confirmed 40 fatalities, while 48 people remained hospitalized, many of them in intensive care.
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Sanchez canceled his scheduled agenda and traveled to the crash site, where he addressed the media and announced that the national mourning period would begin at midnight on Monday. He pledged a full investigation into the cause of the accident, describing it as a “painful day” for the country.
“We will get to the truth, we will find the answers,” Sanchez said, adding that the government would keep the public fully informed “with complete transparency.”
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian regional government, said the impact of the derailment was “extremely violent,” noting that some bodies had been found hundreds of meters from the crash site, suggesting that passengers had been thrown from the train.
He warned that more victims could be discovered once heavy machinery arrives to clear the wreckage.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said earlier that it was “strange” for such an accident to occur on a straight section of track that had only been laid in May 2025. He added that the Malaga-Madrid service, operated by private company Iryo, was using relatively new rolling stock built in 2022.
Alvaro Fernandez Heredia, president of Spain’s state-owned rail operator Renfe, told Spanish state radio network RNE that human error had “been practically ruled out,” suggesting the cause was more likely related to Iryo’s rolling stock or an infrastructure failure.
Spanish media also reported that in August 2025, the national train drivers’ union had raised concerns with infrastructure operator ADIF over defects on the same section of track, including surface damage, unevenness and problems with overhead power lines.
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Police block the way to the scene of train derailment in Adamuz, Spain, January 19, 2026.
[Xinhua]
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced three days of official mourning following a train crash in southern Spain that has killed at least 40 people.
The accident occurred at around 7:45 p.m. local time (1845 GMT) on Sunday, when a train carrying 317 passengers on the Malaga-Madrid route derailed for reasons still unknown near Adamuz, about 20 km north of the city of Cordoba.
As of Monday, authorities had confirmed 40 fatalities, while 48 people remained hospitalized, many of them in intensive care.
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Sanchez canceled his scheduled agenda and traveled to the crash site, where he addressed the media and announced that the national mourning period would begin at midnight on Monday. He pledged a full investigation into the cause of the accident, describing it as a “painful day” for the country.
“We will get to the truth, we will find the answers,” Sanchez said, adding that the government would keep the public fully informed “with complete transparency.”
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian regional government, said the impact of the derailment was “extremely violent,” noting that some bodies had been found hundreds of meters from the crash site, suggesting that passengers had been thrown from the train.
He warned that more victims could be discovered once heavy machinery arrives to clear the wreckage.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said earlier that it was “strange” for such an accident to occur on a straight section of track that had only been laid in May 2025. He added that the Malaga-Madrid service, operated by private company Iryo, was using relatively new rolling stock built in 2022.
Alvaro Fernandez Heredia, president of Spain’s state-owned rail operator Renfe, told Spanish state radio network RNE that human error had “been practically ruled out,” suggesting the cause was more likely related to Iryo’s rolling stock or an infrastructure failure.
Spanish media also reported that in August 2025, the national train drivers’ union had raised concerns with infrastructure operator ADIF over defects on the same section of track, including surface damage, unevenness and problems with overhead power lines.
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By Xinhua