Death toll reaches 45 after southern Spain train crash

The death toll from the collision of two high-speed trains in southern Spain has risen to 45, according to Spanish authorities. The figure may be final once the last two recovered bodies are formally identified.

Rescue teams recovered the two bodies on Thursday from the second car of a derailed Alvia train near Adamuz. Spain’s Guardia Civil said identification of the victims would allow search operations to be formally concluded if they correspond to the final two missing-person reports linked to the crash.

The bodies were found at the bottom of an embankment after several cars of the Alvia train plunged off the tracks during the collision.

Authorities said 43 victims have already been identified following autopsies completed late Wednesday by the Córdoba Institute of Legal Medicine, and 40 bodies have been released to families.

Most of the victims were Spanish nationals. Three were foreign citizens from Morocco, Russia and Germany, and one case involves a minor, officials said. Of the 45 dead, 22 were women and 23 were men.

Thirty-nine of the victims were traveling on the Alvia train operating between Madrid and Huelva. The remaining six were aboard an Iryo high-speed train traveling from Málaga to Madrid.

A total of 123 people were injured in the crash, according to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. Several remain hospitalized, including patients in serious condition.

The collision occurred Sunday evening when the Iryo train derailed near a set of track switches and entered an adjacent line, striking the Alvia train operated by Spain’s state rail company Renfe.

Spain’s transport ministry has said investigators are examining all possible causes, including rail damage found along the line, and are working to determine whether it preceded the derailment or resulted from the impact.