First responders search through wreckage after two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz, near Córdoba, Spain, on Jan. 18, 2026.

A high-speed train derailed in southern Spain on Sunday, jumping onto the track in the opposite direction and hitting an oncoming train in an accident that left at least 21 people dead, authorities said.

The evening train between Malaga and Madrid went off the rails and slammed into a train coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to the Spanish rail operator ADIF.

Spain`s Civil Guard police force told Agence France-Presse that at least 21 people had been killed. Emergency services in Andalucia, the province where the accident happened, said at least 25 people were seriously injured.

The regional Civil Protection chief, María Belén Moya Rojas, told local broadcaster Canal Sur that the accident happened in an area that is hard to reach.

Local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims, she said.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain said Sunday they were "following with great concern the serious accident between two high-speed trains in Adamuz."

"We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the dead, as well as our love and wishes for a swift recovery to the injured," the royal palace said on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following "the terrible news" from Cordoba.

"Tonight you are in my thoughts," she wrote in Spanish.

ADIF said train services between Madrid and cities in Andalucia would not run Monday.

High-speed train derailment kills at least 21 in #Spain pic.twitter.com/YXEXOEOQFa

— Ansarpress (@ansarpress1) January 19, 2026