New Footage from Iry Train Bolsters Track Break Theory in Deadly Adamuz Crash
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New Footage from Iry Train Bolsters Track Break Theory in Deadly Adamuz Crash
- Fresh CIAF report sent to court on April 28 rules out mechanical "anomalies" in the two derailed high-speed trains involved in the January 18 disaster.
- Shaky interior video from the Iryo train reveals lateral and vertical wagon jolts, flying incandescent debris near windows, and passengers struggling to hold on amid the chaos.
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On January 18, 2025, two high-speed trains—a state-run AVE and a private Iryo—collided head-on near Adamuz in Córdoba province, southern Spain, killing 46 people and injuring over 100 in one of Europe’s worst rail disasters in decades.
The accident occurred on a single-track section of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line during routine maintenance hours, when both trains were authorized to travel in opposite directions despite safety protocols typically requiring separation on such segments.
Initial investigations by Spain’s Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes Ferroviarios (CIAF) focused on potential failures in the trains’ systems, but a new technical report delivered to the investigating judge on April 28, 2026, explicitly discards anomalies in the braking, signaling, or structural integrity of either train.
Instead, the evidence points strongly to a rail fracture—likely due to metal fatigue or undetected wear—as the trigger. Newly released interior footage from the Iryo train captures the moments before impact: wagons swaying violently side-to-side and up-and-down, passengers clutching seats and rails to avoid falling, and sparks from grinding metal flashing past windows.
This aligns with external data from black boxes and track sensors, showing both trains at high speeds (around 200-250 km/h) when the lead bogies derailed simultaneously, leading to a catastrophic front-end smash.
The tragedy has prompted scrutiny of Adif, Spain’s rail infrastructure manager, over maintenance schedules and track inspections. Families of victims, represented by associations like the Adamuz Platform, demand accountability, while ongoing judicial probes could lead to manslaughter charges. Parallel inquiries by the European Union Agency for Railways aim to prevent similar incidents across the continent’s expanding high-speed networks.
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