Spain train crash latest: Bodies still trapped in wreckage as Spain deploys cranes and death toll rises

At least 41 people were killed and dozens more injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday evening.

The crash happened at 7.45pm local time near Adamuz, a town of about 5,000 people in the province of Córdoba, according to Spain’s interior ministry.

The tail end of a train run by private high-speed rail operator Iryo, travelling from Málaga to Madrid, was derailed and jumped onto an adjacent track, where it smashed into an oncoming Renfe service travelling from Madrid to Huelva, a municipality in Spain. Renfe is Spain's national state-owned railway company.

At least 40 people were killed and dozens more injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday evening.

The crash happened at 7.45pm local time near Adamuz, a town of about 5,000 people in the province of Córdoba, according to Spain’s interior ministry.

The tail end of a train run by private high-speed rail operator Iryo, travelling from Málaga to Madrid, was derailed and jumped onto an adjacent track, where it smashed into an oncoming Renfe service travelling from Madrid to Huelva, a municipality in Spain. Renfe is Spain's national state-owned railway company.

Stuti Mishra reports:

A Spanish train drivers' union warned rail operator Adif of “severe” damage to the rail tracks where the trains collided, according to Reuters who saw a copy of the letter.

In a letter dated last August, the union warned of severe wear and tear on the rail tracks.

Potholes, bumps, and imbalances in overhead power lines were causing frequent breakdowns and damaging the trains, the letter, published on X and verified by a member of union Semaf to Reuters, read, adding drivers had notified the operator "daily" of their concerns but that no action was taken.

Adif did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Two high-speed trains at the centre of the collision in Spain that killed 39 people, were travelling at over 120mph, sources from the Spanish transport ministry told Sky News.

The Iryo train derailed first and was travelling at around 130mph while the second train was moving at approximately 127mph.

The incident took place in less than 30 seconds.

Experts studying the crash site found a broken joint on the rails, which created a gap between the rail sections that widened as trains continued to travel on the track, according to a source briefed on initial investigations.

That faulty joint could prove important in identifying the cause of the accident, the source said.

Ignacio Barron, head of Spain's Commission of Investigation of Rail Accidents (CIAF), said on RTVE: "What always plays a part in a derailment is the interaction between the track and the vehicle, and that is what the commission is currently (looking into)."

The Iryo train was travelling at 110 kph from Malaga to Madrid when it derailed, Renfe President Álvaro Fernandez Heredia said on radio station Cadena Ser.

Twenty seconds later, the second train, heading to Huelva at 200 kph, either collided with the final two carriages of the Iryo train or with debris on the line, he said. The Iryo train lost a wheel that has not yet been located.

Spain woke to flags at half staff on Tuesday as the nation began three days of mourning for the victims of the deadly train accident in the country’s south, while emergency crews continue searching for possible bodies.

The official death toll of Sunday’s accident rose to 40 by late Monday. But officials warned that that count may not be definitive, with emergency workers still probing for bodies among what Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno called “a twisted mass of metal.”

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Spanish national television RTVE late Monday that searchers believe they have found three more bodies still trapped in the wreckage. Those bodies are not included in the official count, the minister said.

At least 43 people have been reported missing as families search for their loved ones.

Twelve people remain in intensive care.