At Least 30 Killed After Two High-Speed Trains Collide in Central Spain

At least 30 people died on Wednesday when two high-speed trains collided in central Spain, according to officials. The press office for the Castilla La Mancha region confirmed the death toll to NBC News. It is the second deadly rail crash in the country this year.

The collision happened shortly after 9 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in Toledo province, according to a statement on X from ADIF, the body that manages Spain's state-owned railway infrastructure.

Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, told state broadcaster TVE that both trains were traveling in the same direction, from Madrid to Seville. One of them ran into the back of the other, which had stopped on the line. The impact knocked two cars of the stationary train off the track. Padilla said the cause of the crash is not yet known.

She said about 397 people were aboard the state-owned Renfe train and 147 people were on the Iryo train, which is run by a private company.

A passenger identified only as Miguel was riding with several colleagues in the rear car of one of the trains. He described the moment of impact to Spain's COPE radio. "We heard a massive roar, a truly enormous thud that went on for 10 seconds, as if the train were about to derail," he said. He added that through the right-hand window they could see a wrecked train, which he assumed was the other one.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was "deeply saddened" by the accident and said emergency services were working at the scene to help those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all relevant authorities. "My heartfelt sympathy, solidarity, and support go out to all the victims and their families," he wrote on X.

Manuel Galan, the mayor of Urda, a small municipality near the city of Toledo, told TVE that emergency services asked him to prepare a sports hall to accommodate the injured. Renfe said on X that it had set up an emergency phone line for victims' families. Iryo, which is Italian-owned, said in a statement that it had "activated its security protocols and is closely working with authorities."

The crash comes 10 months after a deadly collision in January involving trains from the same two operators, Renfe and Iryo, on the same Madrid to Seville line. That accident killed 45 people in southern Spain when a train left the track and hit an oncoming train. It was the country's deadliest rail crash since 2013, when 80 people were killed.

According to the European Union, Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe for trains traveling faster than 155 mph, with more than 1,900 miles of track.