Manuel Bandera Survives Train Crash Near Toledo, Spain: "I Feel Like I Was Born Again"

Spanish actor Manuel Bandera survived the serious train crash near Urda, in the province of Toledo in central Spain, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with minor injuries. He only has a small bruise on his ribs, the 65-year-old told the Andalusian regional broadcaster Canal Sur. According to the latest count, at least 64 people died and dozens were injured when two trains collided on the Madrid–Andalusia line.

Bandera was on board the AVE, the high-speed train of Spain's state railway, that morning, traveling from Madrid to Seville. According to the newspaper El Español, the actor, who is originally from Málaga, was headed there to tape the show "La gran audición." The train collided with a train operated by the private high-speed operator Iryo.

The radio program "Hoy por Hoy" posted about the crash on X.

"The Most Terrible Experience of My Life"

"I'm in shock. It's the most terrible experience I've ever had," Bandera said by phone on the show "Hoy en día" with host Toñi Moreno on Canal Sur. He said he had been traveling in car 1, which normally runs at the front but was at the rear of the train on this trip. That, he said, is the only reason he survived. "I feel like I was born again," the actor said.

Bandera described a violent emergency braking in which he was thrown against the seat in front of him and hit his face and ribs. Afterward, he said, he felt the train leave the tracks and prayed that the car would not tip over. Only when the train had come to a stop did he see that there had been a collision with the Iryo train. An Iryo car was flung about 100 meters, Bandera told Hola, according to the newspaper SUR.

His car fortunately remained intact, the actor said. Passengers smashed a window and climbed out that way. Outside, Bandera said, he helped a young man.

Stop Shortly Before the Crash

About half an hour outside Madrid, the train stood still for five to eight minutes, Bandera said. The engineer announced over the loudspeaker that they were waiting because of traffic on the line. Shortly after the train got moving again, five to ten minutes later, the crash happened. Bandera suspected that something or someone had given the green light even though an Iryo train was still on the track.

The cause of the crash is still unclear. According to the state rail network operator Adif, the trains were running on trackside signals (Bloqueo de Señalización Lateral, BSL) at the time of the crash because of a malfunction in the LZB train protection system.