A passenger caught up in the devastating train crash in Spain has revealed the split-second decision that saved her life, as the death toll from the disaster rises to 39.
The evening began normally for hundreds of passengers traveling between Malaga, Madrid, and Huelva. However, at 7.45pm near Cordoba, a Madrid-bound train derailed and slammed into an oncoming service, according to rail operator Adif.
One young female passenger, known only as Lola, was originally booked into carriage three of the Alvia train heading to Madrid. In a move that ultimately ensured her survival, she decided to move to carriage five just before the crash to sit with a friend.
When the collision occurred, Lola’s original carriage was completely destroyed. “I was incredibly lucky because mine was completely wrecked,” she told local news outlet SUR.
Lola described the terrifying moment the trains collided, saying she felt intense braking before being jolted “several metres” through the air as the power cut out.
“When I managed to get up, everyone was screaming; it was pitch black,” she recalled.
After scrambling through smashed windows to escape the wreckage, she was met with a scene of total carnage. Lola described seeing the carriages in front blocking the tracks, filled with passengers who were “bleeding, with broken legs”.
Esto es peor de lo que parecía desde nuestro coche. pic.twitter.com/1VzdLIPAAs
— Carmen (@eleanorinthesky) January 18, 2026
For Lola, the horror continued as she desperately searched for another friend who had been traveling in the first carriage, the area hardest hit by the impact. After a frantic search through the disaster of the wreckage, she eventually located her at a nearby field hospital. Her friend survived but suffered two broken legs and is being treated at Reina Sofía Hospital.
Another survivor, Montse Ruiz, who was in the last carriage of the Huelva-bound train, echoed the feeling of disbelief at surviving the crash: “The train stopped and everything went out… I was thrown around. People were screaming, suitcases fell on top of us and the supervisor was behind me, covered in blood,” she said. “I was given a second chance.”
The scale of the tragedy is still being processed by local authorities, but as of Monday afternoon, there are 39 confirmed fatalities and 152 people injured, with 48 remaining in hospital, including 12 in intensive care.
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Featured image credit: STRINGER/EPA/Shutterstock
