Cambridge Scientist Dies in Spanish Train Crash
Marta Shahbazi, a researcher specializing in early human development, was among at least 69 people killed in a collision near Madrid.
A scientist from the University of Cambridge died in a train collision in Spain that claimed at least 69 lives, a research institute has confirmed.
Marta Shahbazi, who led a research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), was traveling on one of the trains involved in the crash near Urda, south of Madrid. The University of Cambridge lists Shahbazi as an affiliate associate professor.
The Spanish CiMUS institute paid tribute to the "brilliant young researcher" in a social media post, noting her expertise in cell biology and her work on early human development. Shahbazi led the Shahbazi Laboratory at the LMB, located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. She was a recent recipient of an award from the Spanish Society for Developmental Biology for her contributions to the study of early human development, an award she was scheduled to receive at the society's conference in Andalusia.
The LMB had previously confirmed Shahbazi was on one of the trains but stated her whereabouts were unknown. A social media post from CiMUS expressed support for María José Alonso, a researcher at their center and Shahbazi's aunt, following the death of her niece. Shahbazi's aunt worked at CiMUS, which is based in Santiago de Compostela.
Shahbazi completed her PhD at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre before joining the University of Cambridge as a post-doctoral fellow and then moving to the LMB in 2020.
The collision occurred when a high-speed train operated by Renfe struck a stationary train from the Iryo company. This incident is considered one of the worst rail disasters in modern European history and Spain's most severe crash since 2013. Three days of national mourning were declared in Spain following the accident. More than 540 people were aboard both trains. According to Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the government of the Castilla-La Mancha region, the Iryo-operated train carried 146 passengers and one baby, while the Renfe train had 397 passengers.