Train strike kills ten in Toledo

A high-speed train struck the rear of a stopped train on Wednesday morning, killing at least 10 people in central Spain. The impact forced two cars off the tracks near the province of Toledo.

Esther Padilla, a spokeswoman for the Castilla La Mancha region, confirmed 10 deaths to state broadcaster TVE. She warned that the death toll would likely increase. The trains were both traveling from Madrid toward Seville when the collision occurred.

The vehicles belonged to two different operators: the state-owned RENFE and the private company IRYO. Padilla said 397 passengers were on the RENFE train and 147 were on the IRYO service. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Manuel Galán, the mayor of the nearby town of Urda, told TVE that passengers were injured. Civil protection officials asked his local government to prepare a sports pavilion to treat the survivors.

ADIF, the Spanish rail system operator, suspended service between Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Andalusia following the crash. Emiliano García-Page, the regional president of Castilla La Mancha, said on X that he was heading to the scene.

This incident follows a deadly collision in January where a RENFE and IRYO train struck an oncoming service, killing 45 people. That crash was the deadliest in Spain since 2013.