21 killed in Spain train collision

At least 21 people have been killed in a collision between two high-speed trains in southern Spain. 75 people have been hospitalized with injuries, 30 of them seriously. Local authorities said the death toll could rise.
Xinhua, BBC, Reuters, The Japan Times and several other international media outlets reported the information.
It said that at 7:45 pm (local time) on Sunday (January 19) at 7:45 pm (local time) the rear of a train from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Cordoba and hit the adjacent track. After the derailment, another train from Madrid-Huelva coming from the opposite direction collided. At least 21 passengers on both trains were killed in the horrific accident.
Private rail company Irio said that the first train that derailed from Malaga was carrying about 300 passengers. On the other hand, the other train operated by state rail company Renfe was carrying about 100 passengers.
The driver of the train from Madrid to Huelva was among the dead, state television Española reported. Thirty of the injured were hospitalized in serious condition, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said.
The cause of the accident was not yet known, he told a news conference at Madrid’s Atocha station. Oscar Puente said such an accident on a straight line was “very unusual”, adding that the line had been renovated in May.
The Andalusian regional emergency services department said five ICUs, four intensive care units and several ambulances were deployed to the scene. The injured were given first aid and then taken to hospital.
“Our solidarity with all the victims,” ​​the president of the Andalusian regional government, Juanma Moreno, said on social media. “ADIF workers are also coordinating rescue and medical operations with emergency services.
Train services from the Andalusian region to Madrid have been suspended following the accident. Train services from Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Huelva will be suspended until at least Monday, the railway authority said.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described it as a “night of deep mourning” for the country. He expressed his deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the victims on social media.
In 2013, the country’s worst train accident occurred when a high-speed train derailed in Galicia, northwestern Spain. In that incident, 80 people were killed and 140 injured.