Death toll in Spanish train collision rises to 39, authorities say it could still rise

Adamuz: Spanish police said Monday that at least 39 people are confirmed dead in a high-speed train collision the previous night in the south of the country, as efforts to recover the bodies continue with authorities expecting the death toll to rise.

The crash occurred Sunday at 7:45 pm when the tail end of a train carrying some 300 passengers on the route from Malaga to the capital, Madrid, went off the rails at 7:45 pm. It slammed into an incoming train travelling from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif.

The head of the second train, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers, took the brunt of the impact, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said. hat collision knocked its first two carriages off the track and sent them plummeting down a 4-metre (13-foot) slope. Puente said that it appeared the largest number of the deaths occurred in those carriages. Andalusia regional president Juanma Moreno said Monday morning that emergency services were still searching what he described as a mass of twisted metal where the smashed carriages had derailed.

“It is likely when you look at the mass of metal that is there. The firefighters have done a great job, but unfortunately when they get the heavy machinery to lift the carriages it is probable we will find more victims.”

“Here at ground zero, when you look at this mass of twisted iron, you see the violence of the impact.” Video and photos showed twisted train cars lying on their sides under floodlights late on Sunday. Passengers reported climbing out of smashed windows, with some using emergency hammers to break the windows, according to Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for Spanish broadcaster RTVE, who was on board one of the derailed trains.