At least 39 people have died and around 75 others have been injured in a train crash in southern Spain.
A high-speed train, the Iryo, travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing onto other tracks where it collided with an oncoming train. Rail network operator Adif said the collision occurred around ten minutes after the train left Malaga at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT) heading for Madrid, after it derailed on a straight section of track.
The second train, operated by state-funded Renfe, was traveling at about 200 km/h (124 mph) at the time of the collision. Authorities said the second train also derailed and fell into an embankment.
Four hundred passengers and staff were on both trains. At least 24 people were seriously injured in the collision, including four children.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the incident as "extremely strange", while officials launched an investigation.
“All the railway experts consulted by the government “are extremely perplexed by the accident. The force of the collision pushed the cars of the second train into a dam. Most of the dead and injured were in the front cars of the second train. The cause of the accident is not yet known. It is “very strange” that a derailment has occurred on a straight section of track. This section of track was renovated in May,” Puente said.
The type of train involved in the accident was a Freccia 1000, which can reach a top speed of 400 km/h (250 mph), a spokesman for the Italian railway company Ferrovie dello Stato told Reuters news agency.
Rescue teams said the twisted wreckage of the trains made it difficult to extract people trapped inside the carriages.
