By Nina Lopez and Michael Francis Gore

ADAMUZ, Spain, Jan 19 (Reuters) - At least 39 people died in southern Spain after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming one on Sunday night, marking the worst railway accident in the country since 2013.

The accident happened at 7.45 p.m. (1845 GMT) near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360 km (223 miles) south of the capital Madrid. It left 122 people injured, with 48 still in hospital and 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.

Drone footage shot by Reuters at the scene showed twisted carriages lying on their side under the glare of floodlights. Some passengers had climbed out of smashed windows, while others were wheeled away on stretchers, according to video footage shared on social media.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on X on Monday that he was on his way to Cordoba.

"The death toll has risen to 39 and is not yet definitive. I want to express my enormous gratitude for the work of the rescue teams overnight, in very difficult circumstances, and my condolences to the victims and their families at this terrible time."

There were around 400 passengers on the two trains, operated by Iryo and Alvia, according to a statement from state-owned rail operator Renfe. Most of them were Spaniards travelling to and from Madrid after the weekend. It was unclear how many tourists were on board during a low-season period in Spain.

The Iryo train was en route from Malaga to Madrid. The second train was heading towards Huelva and was travelling at about 200 km per hour at the moment of impact, newspaper El Pais reported.

The death toll is the highest from a train crash since 2013, when a train derailed in the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela and burst into flames, killing 80 people and injuring 145.

TRAINS TO ANDALUSIA CANCELLED

Over 200 trains between Madrid and the southern Andalusia region - including major cities Cordoba, Seville and Granada - were cancelled on Monday, according to RTVE.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has cleared his agenda for the day, his office said in a statement on Monday.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, Puente told reporters at a press conference at Atocha station in Madrid on Sunday.

Spain's high-speed railway network, with 3,622 km of tracks, is the largest in Europe and the second-biggest in the world after China, according to state-owned rail infrastructure administrator Adif.

The government was criticised last year for a series of delays on the network, caused by power outages and the theft of copper cables from the lines. The network is vulnerable to cable thefts as it crosses large swathes of empty countryside.

Spain opened up its high-speed rail network to private competition in 2020 in a bid to offer low-cost alternatives to Renfe's Ave trains.

Iryo is a joint venture between Italian state railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato, airline Air Nostrum and Spanish infrastructure investment fund Globalvia. It began operating in November 2022, starting with the Madrid-Barcelona route and expanding to other major cities. Alvia is operated by Renfe.

(Reporting by Nina Lopez, Michael Gore, Emma Pinedo and Victoria Waldersee; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by David Latona and Sharon Singleton)

Posted by: AAngeles/NET25 News