Here's the latest
• Deadly rail crash: Scores of people have been killed and around 100 injured after two Spanish trains — carrying about 500 passengers — collided south of Madrid, according to a local government official. CNN’s team on the ground in Toledo province observed a frantic scene amid a huge emergency response.
• ‘People were hurled into the air’: Several witnesses described to CNN at the scene the chaotic moments when passengers were thrown airborne. Rescue operations are still under way along the high-speed line linking the Madrid region with Andalusia has been suspended.
• Third train crash this year: This is the third rail disaster in Spain in 2026. In January, two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz, in southern Spain’s Córdoba province, killing more than 40 people. A commuter train near Barcelona derailed days later.
Updates
(20)Spanish Prime Minister to visit Urda, near crash site
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will travel to Urda, the town closest to the site of the train crash, the country’s government said in a post on X.
While in Urda, Sanchez will “back the works of the emergency teams and bring support to the affected and their families,” the government said.
Train crash in Toledo bears resemblance to Adamuz train disaster earlier this year
The deadly train crash in Spain’s Toledo province has some similarities with a train disaster in Córdoba province that killed more than 40 people earlier this year.
Both train collisions happened along the same high-speed rail route that runs between the capital, Madrid, and Seville, about 300 miles south.
The Toledo crash happened about 130 miles from the site of January’s train disaster near Adamuz, in Córdoba province. Following Wednesday’s crash, authorities have suspended that high-speed line linking the Madrid region with Andalusia.
Both train accidents also involved the collision of two high-speed trains, although one of the trains on Wednesday was not travelling at high speed at the time of the crash.
Spanish emergency authorities have not yet announced a precise cause of Wednesday’s crash, but they have disclosed some details. The local Castilla-La Mancha 112 emergency services told CNN they received a report of a collision at 8.45 a.m. local time. According to the reports, a train owned by the company Iryo was stationary or traveling at low speed when it was struck by a high-speed AVE train operated by Spain’s national railway company Renfe.
It appears the crash on Wednesday was a rear-end collision, authorities at the scene told CNN. The train crash earlier this year involved one train derailing and crossing onto an adjacent track, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE.
For context: Spain’s train drivers’ union, Semaf, has previously raised concerns about high speeds causing vibrations and subsequent wear and tear along high-speed railway lines, a source from the union told CNN in January, in the aftermath of the crash near Adamuz.
In August 2025, the union sent a letter to the national railway operator, Adif, asking for a reduction in the maximum speed on all high-speed train lines from 300 kmph to 250 kmph, after some stretches were vibrating and placing stress on the infrastructure, the source said.
CNN’s Pau Mosquera, Tim Lister and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.
European leaders offer condolences to Spanish train crash victims
There has been an outpouring of grief from neighboring European leaders today, after two trains collided in the Spanish province of Toledo, killing dozens of people.
- Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed his “condolences and profound solidarity” to those affected, offering his country’s “availability for whatever may be necessary” following the collision.
- Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was following developments “with deep concern,” adding that the Italian Consulate General in Madrid was working to verify possible involvement of Italian citizens in the crash.
- French President Emmanuel Macron offered his country’s thoughts to the victims of the collision and their families, as well as emergency crews working on the scene. “To the Spanish people, I express the solidarity of France,” he said.
- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called the news of the collision “devastating” and said that her “heart goes out to the victims’ families and loved ones.” In a post on X, von der Leyen said: “Today, Europe mourns with you.”
- Meanwhile, Benjamín León Jr, the US Ambassador to Spain, said he was “closely following” the news of the crash “with deep concern.” Offering his thoughts to the victims, León Jr said that “all our support is with the emergency services that are working on the grounds now. We are with Spain in these moments.”
Leaders from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Estonia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Andorra also expressed their sympathies.
CNN’s James Frater, Duarte Mendonça, Sharon Braithwaite and Magdalena Vitores Moreno contributed to this reporting.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the title of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Death toll in train crash rises to 64, regional government says
At least 64 people have now been confirmed killed in a deadly train collision in Spain this morning, a spokesperson for the regional Castilla-La Mancha government said.
The spokesperson told CNN that this number is expected to rise further as emergency workers continue to work at the scene.
Death toll from train crash rises to at least 32, local official says
The death toll from today’s train crash in the Spanish province of Toledo has now risen to at least 32, according to Emiliano García-Page, the president of the regional Castilla-La Mancha government.
García-Page shared the latest update when speaking to Spanish national broadcaster Radio Nacional de España.
Previously, authorities had said that at least 30 people had been killed and around 100 injured in the collision.
Civil Guard urges victims' relatives to come forward to accelerate identification
The Spanish Civil Guard announced that they have opened four offices in different cities of Spain in order to swiftly identify the victims of the crash.
A spokesperson of institution has said they will also take DNA samples of the relatives to bring a quick response. “We are calling all close relatives to get to this offices and speed up the identification process,” the spokesperson said.
The offices are in the Civil Guard zones of Madrid, Andalusia, Cordoba and Toledo.
CNN reports from town nearest to the crash site
CNN’s Pau Mosquera has been reporting from Urda, a town roughly five miles from the site of today’s deadly train crash.
Dozens of ambulances and emergency service vehicles have been streaming into the town’s sports centre, where Red Cross workers are treating the injured.
One of the survivors recounted how she was thrown from her seat as the crash’s impact sent her flying into the air. She was grateful for the care provided to her by the emergency staff in Urda.
Massive emergency response at crash site as passengers evacuated, says CNN team on scene
The scene at the site of the crash is frantic as a serious rescue operation is underway, according to CNN’s team on the ground in Toledo province.
Dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars are here. At least three helicopters are also at the crash site to assist with operations. Multiple ambulances have come and gone from the cordoned-off area.
Meanwhile, emergency responders are combing through the rubble of some of the heavily damaged carriages of the train operated by Iryo. Several carriages of the state-owned Renfe high-speed train are tilted on their side after coming off the rails.
The Spanish civil guard has set up multiple tents for what amounts to a huge emergency response.
Authorities have moved a bus full of passengers who do not have serious injuries away from the site, and some those passengers told CNN they are now being taken to their original destination of Sevilla.
Passengers described a chaotic scene when their train hit another train on the tracks.
Those being bussed away from the crash site included citizens of multiple nationalities, including Spain, Brazil and elsewhere. Staff from the US Embassy in Spain are also at the site.
"People were hurled into the air," passenger on crashed train recalls
A woman traveling on one of the trains involved in a deadly collision Wednesday morning has described “awful” scenes as people were thrown into the air.
Patricia was sitting in the third carriage of the AVE high speed train, operated by Renfe, Spain’s national railway company, when it collided with a train owned by the company Iryo.
Speaking to CNN, Patricia told how her train had been stopped for around 20 minutes before the accident, with an announcement explaining there was a lot of traffic. “After that we departed, and maybe not after even three minutes, there was a crash,” she said.
Patricia said the crash seemed to last a long time.
Regional government calls for blood donations
The Castilla-La Mancha regional government has called for blood donations following today’s train crash.
“Donate blood,” reads a post on X. “Today your solidarity is very important.”
The post calls for donations in Alcázar de San Juan, Ciudad Real and Toledo.
At least 30 dead in train crash in Spain's Toledo province. What we know so far
At least 30 people have been killed and around a hundred injured in a collision between two trains in the Spanish province of Toledo this morning, according to a local government official and emergency services. The incident is the third rail disaster in Spain this year.
Here’s what we know about the deadly collision so far:
- The first reports of a collision were received around 8:45 a.m. local time (3:45 a.m. ET), a regional Emergency Services spokesperson told CNN.
- According to the reports, one train, managed by the company Iryo, was either stopped or moving at a low speed when it was struck by the other train, operated by the company Renfe. Part of the Renfe train left the tracks, while several carriages of the Iryo train derailed.
- There were 146 passengers and a baby traveling on one train and 397 passengers on the other, Esther Padilla, the spokesperson of the regional government Castilla and La Mancha, said.
- Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked by the serious train incident,” adding that emergency services were on the ground to assist those impacted in the crash.
- Football teams, including LaLiga giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, have issued statements of condolences following the deadly collision.
CNN’s Pau Mosquera, Sophie Tanno, Magdalena Sofia Vitores Moreno and Lauren Kent contributed to this reporting.
At least 30 people killed in train crash, local official says
At least 30 people have been killed after two trains collided in Spain this morning, according to a local government official.
The spokesperson for the Castilla-La Mancha regional government told CNN that the death toll is likely to rise.
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Where did the crash happen?
Today’s train crash occurred in Toledo province, which sits in central Spain to the south of Madrid.
The provincial capital Toledo is around 40 miles southwest of the Spanish capital, and the crash involved two trains that were traveling on the line linking Madrid to Seville, which is around a further 200 miles south-west of the city of Toledo.
Toledo province is part of the region of Castilla–La Mancha, of which the city of Toledo is also the capital.
Part of train derailed from tracks after high-speed collision, emergency services tell CNN
Castilla-La Mancha 112 emergency services has disclosed more details about this morning’s fatal train crash.
A spokesperson told CNN they received a report of a collision at 8.45 a.m. local time.
According to the reports received, one of the trains, owned by the company Iryo, was stationary or traveling at low speed when it was struck by an AVE train, operated by Renfe, Spain’s national railway company.
Part of the AVE train left the tracks, while several carriages of the Iryo train derailed, the spokesperson said, adding that a military emergency unit had been deployed.
An advanced command post has been set up near the crash site. Meanwhile, in Urda, Toledo, a shelter has been opened, where the Red Cross is providing assistance to the injured and food and other supplies to anyone requiring non-medical support.
The spokesperson estimated that approximately 400 passengers were on board each train at the time of the collision, although exact figures have yet to be confirmed by the rail operators.
CNN has contacted both companies but has not yet received a response.
Eyewitness video emerges of fatal train crash aftermath
One of the first videos to emerge from the site of the fatal railway crash in Toledo, Spain, has been shared with CNN by a journalist from Spanish radio station Capital Radio, who was a passenger on one of the trains.
Footage filmed from inside one of the carriages following the collision appears to show the mangled remains of another carriage next to the tracks.
Train crash in Toledo province marks third rail disaster in Spain this year
The crash in the province of Toledo marks the third rail disaster in Spain this year.
In January, two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz, in southern Spain’s Córdoba province, killing more than 40 people. That collision happened after the tail end of a northbound train derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, where a southbound train was approaching. More than a hundred people were injured, authorities said at the time.
That crash also killed one of the train drivers and led to a nationwide strike to demand greater safety for railway professionals amid a series of accidents throughout Spain.
Prior to that collision, Spain’s train drivers’ union, Semaf, had raised concerns about high speeds causing vibrations and subsequent wear and tear along high-speed railway lines, a source from the union told CNN at the time.
The Adamuz accident was the worst on Spain’s railways since a crash in Galicia in 2013, when 79 people were killed and 144 injured after a train slammed into a well and burst into flames near the city of Santiago de Compostela.
Days after the Adamuz train disaster, a commuter train near Barcelona derailed on a day of heavy rainfall, killing the driver and injuring dozens of passengers.
CNN’s Pau Mosquera, Tim Lister and Sana Noor Haq contributed to this report.
Football teams offer condolences after deadly train collision
Football teams, including LaLiga giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, have issued statements of condolences following the deadly high-speed train collision.
Real Madrid added that it offers its ” full support and solidarity” to those impacted and sends its “full support” to the emergency services at the scene.
Atlético Madrid said that it joins “in the grief for the victims of the terrible railway accident that occurred this morning in the province of Toledo.”
At least 10 fatalities in train collision, regional spokesperson says
At least 10 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided in Spain’s Toledo province, a spokesperson for the regional government told local news outlet CMM Noticias.
Esther Padilla, the spokesperson of the regional government Castilla and La Mancha, said that there were 146 passengers and a baby traveling on one train and 397 passengers on the other.
Spain's prime minister "shocked" by "serious train incident"
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked by the serious train incident” in Toledo. In a post on X, Sánchez added that emergency services are on the ground to assist those impacted in the crash.
My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families,” he said.
In an interview with the radio station Cadena Ser, the mayor of Urda, Manuel Galán, said that authorities are preparing a facility to receive any potential injured individuals, following a request from the Civil Protection agency.
Speaking to TVE España, Jesús Pérez Martín, the mayor of Los Yébenes, said, “We have very little information; I’ve been told it’s a serious accident.”
Two high-speed trains collide in Spain forcing suspension of line
Two high-speed trains collided in Spain on Wednesday morning in what the country’s prime minister has described as a “serious” incident.
A train operated by the state-owned company Renfe and another operated by the company Iryo collided in the central Spanish province of Toledo, between the towns of Mora, Orgaz, and Urda, according to the railway infrastructure manager ADIF.
Both trains were traveling along the route connecting the capital city Madrid with Seville in Spain’s southern Andalusia province. The crash has forced the suspension of the high-speed line linking the Madrid region with Andalusia.
The extent of the damage and information regarding potential injuries currently remain unknown.
Stay with us for the latest.
