By Joan Faus and Graham Keeley
MADRID, Jan 18 (Reuters) - A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks and down an embankment in a collision that police sources confirmed to Reuters had killed at least 21 people.
The cause for the crash is not yet known, Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente told reporters at a press conference at Atocha station in Madrid, adding it was "really strange" that a derailment should have happened on a straight stretch of track. This section of track was renewed in May, he added.
The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, about 360km (223 miles) south of the capital Madrid. A regional health chief said 18 injured people had already been transferred to hospital, some with life-threatening wounds.
State broadcaster Television Espanola reported that the driver of one of the trains, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva, was among those who died, and that a total of 100 people had been injured, 25 seriously.
"The Iryo 6189 Malaga - (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was travelling on the adjacent track has also derailed," Adif, which runs the rail network, said in a social media post.
Adif said the accident happened at 6:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), about 10 minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading towards Madrid.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was travelling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said.
The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted what had happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities.
The second train, an Alvia, was operated by Renfe, which El Pais reported was travelling at around 200 km (124 miles) per hour at the moment of impact.
Renfe said the derailment of its train had been caused by the Iryo train derailing into its path, adding that emergency services were still recovering passengers.
Renfe said its president was travelling to the crash site and that it was working to support passengers and their families.
Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.
HORRIFIC SCENE
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cleared his diary for Monday to address the tragedy, while the Spanish King and Queen were following events with concern, a spokesperson said. Foreign embassies sent text messages to staff asking them to confirm they were safe.
Troops have also been deployed from a military base near the crash site to support rescue and recovery efforts, the Military Emergency Service confirmed.
The Iryo train had more than 300 passengers on board, while the Renfe train had around 100.
Antonio Sanz, Andalusia regional government health chief, said six people who were very seriously injured, five seriously injured and seven with other injuries were being cared for in different hospitals around the region.
He said access to the crash site was difficult, and that one train had fallen down a four-metre embankment to the side of the tracks.
"We expected a very complicated night. The number of dead could rise," he told reporters in Cordoba.
He declined to answer questions about the possible cause of the crash, saying it was the responsibility of Adif to investigate.
Paco Carmona, Cordoba fire chief, told TVE that while the Iryo had been evacuated within hours of the accident, the Renfe train's carriages were badly damaged, with twisted metal and seats.
"There are still people trapped. The operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow," he said. "We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task."
Transport Minister Puente said he was following events from rail operator Adif's headquarters in Madrid.
"The latest information is very serious," he posted on X. "The impact was terrible, causing the first two carriages of the Renfe train to be thrown off the track. The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The most important thing now is to help the victims."
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, told El Pais newspaper that he had been among the first to arrive at the scene of the accident alongside the local police and saw what he believed to be a badly lacerated body several metres from the accident site.
"The scene is horrific," he said. "I don't think they were on the same track, but it's not clear. Now the mayors and residents of the area are focused on helping the passengers."
TEARFUL PASSENGERS
Images on local television showed a reception centre set up for passengers in the town of Adamuz, population 5,000, with locals coming and going with food and blankets amid nighttime temperatures of around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius).
Tearful passengers disembarking from the bus spoke briefly to local press before being shepherded inside.
"There are many injured. I am still trembling," Maria San José, 33, a passenger in coach 6 on the train travelling from Malaga to Madrid, told El Pais newspaper.
A passenger from the Alvia train, who was not named, told TVE: "There were people screaming, their bags fell from the shelves. I was travelling to Huelva in the fourth carriage, the last, luckily."
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of that train's rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on its upturned side.
Jimenez told TVE by phone from beside the stricken trains that passengers had used emergency hammers to smash the windows and climb out, and they had seen two people taken out of the overturned carriages on stretchers.
(Reporting by Joan Faus and Graham Keeley, writing by Aislinn Laing; Additonal reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Nia Williams and Himani Sarkar)
