According to Adif, the crash happened about ten minutes after the train left Malaga at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT). All rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended following the accident.
Iryo, a private rail company that operated the journey from Malaga, confirmed the derailment and said around 300 passengers were on board.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist with RTVE who was on one of the trains, said many people were able to walk away without serious injuries.
“I was in the first carriage. There was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed. They called immediately to see if there were people in the health service who could help, they took hammers to break the windows and in the end they evacuated us,” he added.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the government was working with emergency services to help those affected, while Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno expressed his concern and support for the victims and their families.
