Spain train crash: drivers had raised concerns over track before collision that killed 39 –as it happened

The Madrid-Andalucía high-speed line, which was involved in Sunday’s deadly collision, will be closed until at least Friday, according to reports.

The Vatican has issued a statement saying that Pope Leo XIV expressed his condolences for those killed in the crash, added that he hopes for the quick recovery of the injured.

Sánchez has vowed that a “thorough and ‍absolutely transparent” investigation into the crash will take place.

“I can guarantee the victims that we will be protecting them and assisting them for as long as necessary,” he told journalists.

The condition of the railway tracks where the two trains collided had caused a crew member to suffer an injury in July, El Mundo reports.

According to a report obtained by the newspaper, the condition of the tracks had caused enough rattling and shaking that a piece of equipment fell on the head of a crew member.

Rafael Escudero, the general secretary of the Spanish railway union, told El Mundo that the rattling and shaking happens because the tracks cannot absorb the weight and force of the trains. Escudero said they have often received complaints about the jolting.

The state-owned rail infrastructure administrator ADIF told El Mundo that it had recorded almost a dozen incidents on this particular section of railway in Adamuz.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is speaking near the site of the crash in the municipality of Adamuz in Córdoba province.

Stay tuned for an update on his remarks.

Greece’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, has expressed its condolences in a message of support for Spain.

In a statement on X, it said:

We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts are with the injured and all those affected by this tragedy. At this moment of grief, Greece stands in solidarity with the people and the government of Spain.

Sunday’s crash is not without echoes in Greece where questions are still being asked, almost three years later, as to how a northbound passenger train could collide head-on with a freight train, leaving 57 dead. The 28 February crash was the worst rail disaster ever recorded in Greece.

More on Spanish monarch King Felipe who is in Athens, with his Greek-born mother, Sophia, to attend the funeral of her sister Irene (see post at 10.21).

The train crash has lent a particularly sombre tone to the funeral of Irene, whose body was brought back from Madrid where she had lived with her older and much beloved sister, Sophia, for years.

The entire Spanish royal family has flown in for the funeral of a woman who kept out of the spotlight but has been described as a quiet force who was also one of the most unconventional and interesting royal figures of modern times – she once flew a plane of cows to India as an act of charity.

Irene’s body had laid in state in Madrid before being flown to Athens where well-wishers paid their respects before a casket draped with the Greek flag in a chapel next to the cathedral where the funeral service is underway.

The Greek royal family was dethroned by popular vote in 1974 when democracy was restored and Greece became a republic. King Felipe had addressed the train crash as he arrived with his with family at the cathedral.

We have another update from Spain’s Guardia Civil, a military-style law enforcement agency, which said in a post on X that over 220 civil guard officers were involved in rescue operations at the crash site, including those in the air service.

The central forensic team is working on identifying victims, the Spanish law enforcement agency added.

In comments to Spanish news broadcaster, La Sexta, Juanma Moreno said:

These kinds of accidents are surprising. The crash was very, very serious. A train carries society – grandparents, children, pregnant women … It’s a catastrophe.

Messages of condolences over the tragic train collision in southern Spain have poured in from numerous European leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron said:

A railway tragedy strikes Andalusia. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the entire Spanish people. France stands by your side.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said: “Italy stands close to Spain in its grief for this tragedy.”

The Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof, said:

Horrific news from Spain, where a train accident has claimed dozens of lives. I have expressed my support and condolences to prime minister Sanchez. My thoughts are with all the victims and their families affected by this enormous disaster.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said:

The news of the tragic train accident in Adamuz has deeply shaken me. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. I offer them my sincere condolences. To the injured, I wish strength and a speedy recovery. Germany stands with Spain at this time.

Spain’s Civil Guard has said in a post on X that it has set up several offices so that the families of those affected by the crash in Adamuz “can file reports and provide DNA samples for identification purposes”.

There were about 400 passengers on the two trains, operated by Iryo and Alvia, according to an earlier statement from state-owned rail operator Renfe.

Emergency workers said the twisted wreckage of the trains has made it hard to recover those trapped inside the carriages.

As we have mentioned in the blog already, officials have said at least 39 people were killed in the crash but this figure is expected to rise as rescue work continues throughout the day.

On Monday morning, emergency services in Andalucía said 122 people had been treated for their injuries and 48 people were still in hospital, of whom 12 were in intensive care units.

King Felipe of Spain has expressed his “concern about the terrible accident” in which at least 39 people have been killed.

Speaking from Greece, the monarch was quoted as having told the media:

We have been in contact with Sánchez and Juanma Moreno to learn the details. As soon as we finish, we will return as soon as possible. I understand the anguish of the families of the victims and the injured.

We know that many residents of Adamuz assisted the victims immediately, and we express our gratitude to them for that.

Here are some of the latest images being sent to us over the newswires as rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of the deadly train collision in southern Spain:

The municipal sports centre of Adamuz, in Córdoba, has been turned into an improvised field hospital, where the most minor injuries are reported to have been treated.

The European commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, has said the commission’s emergency centre is in contact with Spanish authorities regarding the fatal train crash and is “ready to help with support” if requested.

Sam Jones is Madrid correspondent for the Guardian

Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, said the cause of the accident had yet to be established. Speaking at a press conference at Atocha station in Madrid, he added 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 said.

Puente said most of those killed and injured had been in the first two carriages of the second train …

A journalist from the public broadcaster RNE, who was travelling on one of the trains, said the impact had felt like an earthquake. Passengers had used emergency hammers to break carriages windows and get out, he said.

A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been onboard the Málaga to Madrid train. “Ten minutes after departing [from Córdoba], the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach six behind us. The lights went out.”

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