‘Utter Chaos’: High-Speed Train Collision Leaves Dozens Dead, Some Still Trapped In Wreckage
A high-speed train derailment in southern Spain on Sunday resulted in a horrific crash that left at least 40 dead and dozens more injured — with more dead and injured feared to still be buried in the wreckage.The crash took place near the town of Adamuz in Cordoba Province around 7:45 p.m. local time and involved two high-speed trains, both of which were traveling at approximately 130 miles per hour at the time of the derailment and subsequent crash, The New York Times reported.According to multiple reports, the last two cars of a northbound train traveling from Malaga to Madrid derailed first, crossing the tracks and crashing into a southbound train traveling from Madrid to Huelva. The second train derailed as well after the impact and tumbled down an embankment.The scene, according to local police, was “utter chaos” as injured passengers attempted to climb out of the damaged train cars. The bodies of some of those killed were thrown a considerable distance from the train.Spanish transportation minister Óscar Puente told reporters that even the experts are confused as to what might have caused the crash, especially since the section of track that goes through the area of the crash is primarily flat and was only recently renovated. “The accident is extremely strange. All the experts we have consulted are extremely baffled.”The northbound train was carrying more than 300 passengers at the time of the derailment, and the southbound train was carrying about 100 passengers.In the wake of the crash, rail service between Madrid and Andalusia has been temporarily suspended, and the Spanish Red Cross has set up a temporary center for victims and their families near Adamuz. Carmen Moreno, of the Andalusian Red Cross, told The New York Times that they are providing families with food, but information surrounding the crash is what they want most.“What people are demanding most is information. And since we cannot give them all the information we would like, there is a lot of tension, a lot of anxiety, temporary anxiety from not knowing what is happening, and sadness,” she explained.Spain is currently home to the most extensive high-speed rail system in Europe — and the second-largest in the world, behind only China.
