Train crash in Urda kills 69 as residents aid victims

A train collision near Urda in the Toledo province killed 69 people and injured dozens more on the morning of October 28, 2026. The trains involved were operated by Iryo, Alvia and Renfe, and rescue efforts continued through the day as helicopters and ambulances transported the wounded.

Father José Miguel Fernández, the parish priest of Urda, was among the first to reach the crash site. He later visited the school pavilion where lightly injured passengers were sheltered and the hall where families gathered, many arriving from Madrid.

“I felt protected by the Virgin.”

María del Carmen, a passenger close to 76 years old, was traveling in seat 12C of carriage 6 on an AVE train from Atocha. She was thrown into the aisle during the impact and suffered facial injuries, rib and shoulder bruises, a broken collarbone and a possible broken nose. Other bleeding passengers helped her leave the carriage and reach safety.

Residents mobilized without waiting for instructions. School pavilions were prepared to receive the injured, while bakeries and supermarkets donated bread, pastries, water and milk to victims, families and rescue workers.

By the afternoon of October 29, sirens and helicopters had stopped as the wounded had been transferred. The village of fewer than 2,500 residents continued to mourn, having also faced a recent flood that damaged farmers' work.

Authorities have not yet explained how the collision happened a second time in the region, following a similar accident in Adamuz.