'I was on the Spanish train that derailed - one decision saved my life'

At least 39 people died in the incident (Image: @eleanorinthesky (via X)/AFP via Getty)

A passenger on the train that derailed in Spain has recounted the horrors she experienced - and one decision that may have saved her life. The tail end of an evening train from Malaga to Madrid, containing about 300 passengers, went off the rails near Cordoba at 7.45pm and slammed into a train with 200 passengers coming from Madrid to Huelva, according to rail operator Adif.

A passenger, identified only as Lola, was on the third carriage of the Alvia train going from Huelva to Madrid, but moved to carriage five to be with her friend. It was then that she felt intense braking, causing her to be jolted "several metres" and the power to go out.

Volunteers helped with clean-up operations. (Image: Getty)

Other passengers around her scrambled to smash windows to escape and, once she got outside, Lola witnessed the extent of the damage to the train and people.

She added: "The two cars in front were left blocking the tracks, with injured people, bleeding, with broken legs."

Lola recalled the panic that set in when she went to find another friend, who had been in the first carriage, but couldn't locate her in the chaotic aftermath.

She said: "She's one of the worst affected; we didn't find her until we got to the field hospital. They told us she's alive, although she has both legs broken and is being taken to Reina Sofía Hospital."

The distressed passenger said elderly people weren't able to climb out of the carriages, and children were left trying to find their parents in the dark.