Footage released by Spain’s Military Emergency Unit shows rescue personnel searching the debris, while Civil Guard officers and firefighters assist at the scene. Around 100 UME personnel were deployed, with sniffer dogs and specialist units working through twisted metal.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Toledo, where ambulances arrived throughout the morning and police cordoned off entrances. Regional officials said 58 people required hospital treatment, about 50 of them seriously.

King Felipe VI sent condolences to the victims and their families, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his solidarity and support.

The crash occurred shortly before 9am on the Madrid–Seville line, at kilometre 118 between Mora, Orgaz and Urda. A Renfe AVE train carrying 397 passengers struck the rear of a privately operated Iryo train, which had stopped after a reported signal fault, knocking two carriages off the tracks. The Iryo service was carrying 147 people, including a baby.

The disaster is Spain’s second major rail accident this year, after a January crash in southern Spain killed 45 people.