At least 68 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided near Urda in Spain’s central province of Toledo on Wednesday, October 28, according to the latest provisional count released by the Castilla-La Mancha regional government. Officials said 44 of those who died were travelling on the Iryo service and 24 were on the Renfe AVE. More than 100 people were reported injured to varying degrees as emergency teams continued work at the scene.
Collision on the Madrid–Seville corridor
The crash occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on the Madrid–Seville high-speed corridor, close to kilometre point 118 between Los Yébenes and Urda. Spain’s rail infrastructure manager Adif described the incident as a rear-end collision involving a Renfe train and an Iryo train, both operating between Madrid and Seville. Iryo said its service 6076 had left Madrid at 7:54 a.m. and was struck from behind near Urda. The company said the reason its train was hit remains unknown.
Renfe confirmed that its AVE service, scheduled to run from Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Sevilla Santa Justa, was involved. Both operators activated emergency and family-assistance procedures. Adif established assistance points at Madrid-Puerta de Atocha, Sevilla-Santa Justa and Córdoba stations, while regional authorities opened a dedicated information line for relatives and friends of people who may have been affected.
Emergency response and disrupted services
Castilla-La Mancha activated its regional emergency plan for Toledo province and later raised the response level after requesting support from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit. Firefighters, medical teams, police and other responders were deployed around the site. The regional government said hospitals in Toledo, Ciudad Real, Alcázar de San Juan and Albacete received injured passengers, while several patients were transferred to Madrid.
Traffic on the Madrid–Andalusia high-speed line was suspended after the collision. Adif said trains already on the corridor were held at stations, and Iryo cancelled services from Madrid toward the southern corridor without an immediate timetable for restoration. Renfe said it was working with Adif, emergency services and the Transport Ministry while assessing the extent of the accident.
Cause remains under investigation
No official cause had been announced by Wednesday evening. The confirmed sequence from Adif and the train operators establishes that one train struck the other from behind, but authorities had not explained why the Iryo service was stopped or how the Renfe train came to collide with it. Any attribution of the crash to signalling, infrastructure, technical failure or human error would therefore be premature.
Associated Press independently reported the same death toll of at least 68, citing the regional government, and said rescue crews were still searching the wreckage. Reuters earlier reported a lower provisional count while rescue work was continuing; the regional government’s later figure superseded that initial total. Officials stressed that the count remained provisional.
Three days of national mourning
Spain declared official mourning from midnight on October 29 through the end of October 31. Under the decree published in the Official State Gazette, national flags will fly at half-staff on public buildings and Navy vessels during that period. The measure reflects the scale of a disaster that has again placed the safety of Spain’s high-speed rail network under intense scrutiny.
Authorities’ immediate priorities remain the recovery and identification of victims, treatment of the injured, support for families and preservation of evidence at the crash site. Rail passengers on routes between Madrid and Andalusia were advised to check directly with their operator as the suspension affected the wider corridor. Further changes to the casualty count, service status and investigation findings are expected only through official updates.
