Florida First Responders Survive Deadly Spain Train Crash, Aid Survivors
A firefighter and his nurse wife, who were on vacation with family, assisted victims after a high-speed collision near Toledo.
A Florida firefighter and his nurse wife survived a high-speed train crash in Spain that killed at least 69 people, and immediately began helping other passengers. Josue Garcia Otero, a firefighter with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, and his wife, Diamary Garcia, were traveling with six other family members when their train was involved in a collision near Urda, close to Toledo.
"We got to safety first, then began treating other patients that were critically injured," Garcia-Otero said in a statement provided by his department. "My wife is a nurse, and she was helping too."
Garcia-Otero, who has been with the Jacksonville department for four years and is part of its Critical Care Team, was traveling on a train that collided with another. Jacksonville Fire Chief Percy Golden II commended the couple's actions. "Josue had every reason to focus on his own family and nothing more," Golden said. "Instead, once they were safe, he and his wife went to work. That just goes to show the caliber of first responders they are."
The incident occurred when a state-run Renfe train was authorized to proceed at normal speed despite a stationary Iryo-operated train ahead, according to Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente. The crash led to a high death toll, with regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page confirming 69 fatalities after human remains were discovered during overnight rescue efforts. Dozens were injured, and 57 remained hospitalized as of Thursday.
This was Spain's second fatal high-speed train crash this year. Rescue workers continued searching for victims on Thursday amidst the wreckage of the mangled cars.