The RMT has described a Spanish high speed train collision in which at least 39 people have been killed as ‘deeply shocking’.

The accident happened at 18.45 GMT last night, when a Freccia 1000 train from Málaga to Madrid became derailed on a straight section near Córdoba and collided with a train travelling from Madrid to Huelva. The train to Madrid was being run by open access operator Iryo, while the other was a Renfe service.

It is reported that 300 of the 400 passengers and staff had been on board the Madrid-bound train, and a total of 122 people from both trains needed medical help. Of these 48 are in hospital, where 11 adults and one child are in intensive care.

The cause of the derailment is unclear so far, and all services between Madrid and Andalusia are expected to remain suspended for the rest of today.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: ‘This is a deeply shocking event and my thoughts are with all those rail workers, passengers and families affected by this horrific crash.

‘We express our solidarity with our sister trade unions and federations including Sindicato Ferroviario,SFF-CGT, SCF, SEMAF and ALFERRO at this extremely difficult time.’