Spanish Royals Visit Train Crash Survivors, Moved to Tears
King Felipe and Queen Letizia offered condolences and support to those injured in a high-speed rail collision that killed at least 69 people, coinciding with a national period of mourning.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited injured survivors of a devastating train crash at Toledo University Hospital on Thursday, appearing visibly moved by the tragedy. The visit occurred as Spain began a three-day period of national mourning for the at least 69 people killed in the high-speed train collision near Urda in Toledo on Wednesday.
The royal couple, who postponed their official engagements for the mourning period, met with survivors, 15 of whom are in intensive care, and their families. They also expressed gratitude to the medical staff attending to the injured. Following the interactions, both monarchs appeared emotional, with King Felipe seen reading a statement from his phone.
The accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. on Wednesday when a train traveling from Madrid to Seville collided with a stationary train on the same route, causing multiple carriages to derail. The crash left over 100 people injured and was described by survivors as 'apocalyptic.'
Investigations are underway into a potential technical error that may have led to the collision. Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente attributed the incident to an 'inexplicable' order from a central command unit after a security system failed. He stated that the control center had sufficient time to rectify the system failure but did not, and the decision to resume traffic without the system being restored lay with them.
The incident has raised concerns about railway safety in Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the situation 'not acceptable' and declared the national mourning period. Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo suspended his campaign activities and stated that Spain has a right to know about the state of its infrastructure.
Amid growing public anger over the failures, demonstrations erupted in Madrid on Wednesday evening outside the Ministry of Transport, with protesters calling for the resignations of Prime Minister Sanchez and Transport Minister Puente. Reports indicate that audio recordings from the control center minutes before the crash revealed a failure to warn one of the train drivers of the impending collision.
This latest disaster marks Spain's third fatal railway incident this year. Previous crashes in January resulted in 47 deaths in one incident and claimed the life of a train driver in another, with dozens more injured.