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A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks and down an embankment in a collision that killed at least 21 people, Reuters reported citing Spanish authorities.
The accident happened near Adamuz in the province of Cordoba, about 360 km (223 miles) south of the capital Madrid.
Of the 75 people hospitalised, 15 are in serious condition, the chief of Andalucia's regional government, Juanma Moreno, told reporters early on Monday, according to Reuters.
He said the death toll could rise.
"The forcefulness of the accident has been very strong ... we will likely find (more) corpses," Moreno said, adding that heavy machinery would be needed to remove the trains' wrecked metal pieces and try to locate any new victims.
El Pais newspaper reported that the 27-year-old driver of the Madrid-to-Huelva train, the one that was struck, was among the dead.
There were around 400 passengers on the two trains, most of them Spaniards travelling back to and from Madrid after the weekend.
The cause for the crash is not yet known.
"Tonight is a night of deep pain for our country," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X.
Spain's King and Queen were following the developments with concern, a spokesperson said.