Latest: High-speed train collision in southern Spain leaves at least 39 dead

"High-speed train derailed, jumped onto the track in the opposite direction and crashed into an oncoming train on Sunday in southern Spain Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll but said more victims could be confirmed The crash happened in an area that is hard to reach- locals were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims"

"The tail end of an evening train from Malaga to Madrid with around 300 passengers went off the rails near Cordoba at 7.45pm and slammed into a train with 200 passengers coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif. Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente updated the death toll to 21 after midnight when he said rescuers had removed all the survivors. The death toll was updated again shortly after 6am this morning, this time to 39 people."

"The Spanish Red Cross set up a help centre in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, offering assistance to emergency services and people seeking information. Members of Spain's Civil Guard and Civil Defence were also on site working in the cold, cloudless night. Only emergency services were allowed to approach the crash site. Mr Moreno said emergency workers would work all night to remove bodies from the wreckage. "We have a very difficult night ahead," Andalusia's regional health chief Antonio Sanz said."

At about 7:45pm near Córdoba a high-speed evening train from Malaga to Madrid derailed, jumped onto the opposite track and collided with an oncoming train from Madrid to Huelva. The Malaga–Madrid train carried around 300 passengers and the Madrid–Huelva train about 200. Rescue teams recovered survivors and the death toll rose overnight, ultimately updated to 39 people, with 75 passengers hospitalized and 15 seriously injured. The crash occurred in a hard-to-reach area where locals brought blankets and water, and a Red Cross help centre was established in Adamuz. Civil Guard and Civil Defence worked through the cold night and only emergency services were allowed near the site. The cause remains unknown; officials described the incident as "truly strange" given a renovated flat stretch of track and a train less than four years old.

Read at Irish Independent