According to officials and rail operators, the incident involved a Renfe train and an Iryo train carrying more than 500 passengers in total. Spain's transport minister stated that an "inexplicable" decision by the control centre contributed to the collision after an initial computer failure halted trains. Rail operator Iryo confirmed that its service was struck from behind by the Renfe train. Local leaders warned that the death toll could rise as emergency responders work to access the deeper sections of the heavily damaged carriages.
In response to the tragedy, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site and declared that Spain is grieving, prompting major political parties to suspend general election campaigning. Spain's interior ministry deployed military emergency units, Civil Guard officers, and Major Disaster Unit investigators to the scene. The disaster marks Spain's worst rail accident since 2013 and is the country's second fatal train crash this year involving the same two rail operators, following a January collision in southern Spain that killed 46 people.
