More than 20 people have been killed in a high-speed train crash in southern Spain.

Antonio Sanz, regional health minister for the Andalusia province where the crash happened on Sunday evening, said officials fear that the death toll may rise.

Rescue operations are ongoing, he said, adding that 73 injured passengers have been taken to six different hospitals.

The evening train between Malaga and Madrid went off the rails and hit a train coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to the Spanish rail operator Adif.

Two Guardia Civil officials confirmed the death toll to The Associated Press by phone and text message. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.

The authorities said that around 100 people were injured, 25 of them seriously.

An Iryo high-speed train operated by Italy’s Trenitalia derailed late on Sunday evening while travelling from Málaga to Madrid and ended up on the neighbouring track.

An oncoming high-speed train operated by the Spanish company Renfe also derailed as a result, according to the emergency services, citing the rail network operator ADIF.

“The Iryo 6189 Málaga (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was travelling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” Adif, which runs the rail network, said in a social media post.

Adif said the accident happened about ten minutes after the Iryo train left Malaga heading towards Madrid at 6.40pm on Sunday (4.40am Monday AEDT).

Iryo is an Italian-run private rail operator. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.

Andalusia emergency services said on social media that all rail traffic had been halted and emergency services were on their way, including at least nine ambulances and emergency support vehicles.

Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the train from Cordoba to Madrid, shared images showing the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage.