At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday when two high-speed trains collided south of Madrid, a regional official said, according to the BBC.
The Spain train crash happened just after 09:00 (08:00 GMT), when one high-speed train hit the back of another at Urda, the BBC reported. At least two carriages left the tracks.
It is the country's second deadly high-speed rail crash in less than a year. In January, 46 people died at Adamuz in southern Spain. The new collision is renewing questions about safety on the network weeks before Spaniards vote in parliamentary elections.
Where the Urda train collision happened
The BBC described the crash site in several ways. It said the trains collided between the municipalities of Mora and Orgaz, just south of Madrid. It placed the impact itself at Urda.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referred to it as "the serious train accident in Toledo." He also said he was in contact with the president of Castilla-La Mancha, the regional government.
One train belonged to state-run operator Renfe. The other was run by private operator Iryo, the BBC reported. The research does not say which of the two trains struck the other.
What is known about the Spain train crash cause
No official cause has been announced. In its early assessment, the BBC reported that at Urda "there appears to have been a failure involving safety mechanisms." That assessment has not been confirmed by authorities. The BBC did not say which safety system may have been involved or how it might have failed.
The death toll of at least 10 comes from a regional official whom the BBC did not name. There is no figure yet for the number of injured.
Sánchez wrote on X that he was "shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo."
"I remain in constant contact with the Minister of Transport, and with the president of Castilla-La Mancha," Sánchez said.
He added that emergency services were working on the ground "to assist those affected and ensure their safety, in coordination with all the involved administrations."
"My affection, solidarity, and support to all the victims and their families," he wrote.
How Urda compares with the Adamuz disaster
The Adamuz crash in January was Spain's worst rail tragedy since 2013, according to the BBC. It raised doubts about the safety of the country's prized high-speed network.
In that accident, a high-speed train derailed and its rear carriages went into the path of a Renfe train. Forty-six people died. The BBC reported that the cause was a fracture on the track.
The two crashes have features in common. Both involved high-speed trains, and both involved a Renfe service. But the BBC said the circumstances were "very different." Adamuz began with a fault in the track, while the early indications at Urda point to a failure of safety mechanisms.
The two accidents together have revived concerns about safety on Spain's railways, the BBC reported.
Election campaigning suspended
Sánchez and other Spanish politicians cancelled all public engagements on Wednesday, the BBC reported. That included campaigning for next month's parliamentary elections.
Those cancellations apply to Wednesday only. It is not yet clear whether the crash will change the campaign any further, or whether rail safety will become an election issue.
What is still unknown
Many basic facts about the collision had not been confirmed by Wednesday. The open questions include:
- The final number of dead and injured. The current toll of "at least 10" comes from a single, unnamed regional official.
- Which train was at the back. The BBC did not say whether the Renfe or the Iryo train struck the other.
- The nature of the suspected safety mechanism failure. This is the BBC's early assessment, not an official finding.
- Whether an official investigation has been opened, and which body will lead it.
- Whether any foreign nationals were among the passengers. No information on passengers' nationalities has been released.
All the reporting in this story comes from a single outlet, the BBC. Accounts from Spanish authorities, Renfe and Iryo had not been published.
Emergency services were still at the scene, Sánchez said, working with the administrations involved to help those affected.