THE WORLD, EXPLAINED.

Spain’s high-speed rail collision leaves at least 64 dead

Rescue teams search wreckage in Toledo province as officials warn the toll may rise.

By Ayal · October 28, 2026

A high-speed railway viaduct near Requejo de Sanabria, Spain, photographed in February 2022. Archival rail-network context; this is not the October 2026 collision site, either train involved or rescue operations. Feranza — CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AVE.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 Provider-sized copy; no content edits. Display may crop to fit cards.

At least 64 people died after two high-speed passenger trains collided in Spain’s Toledo province on October 28, according to regional authorities cited by AFP and the Associated Press. Emergency crews continued searching the wreckage while injured passengers were taken to hospital.

Services between Madrid and parts of southern Spain were suspended. Officials had not established the cause in the reports reviewed for this update. The casualty count remains provisional; the accompanying archival photograph shows a different part of Spain’s rail network.