One of Europe‘s deadliest train disasters this century has raised fresh questions about safety on Spain’s rail network after the transport minister reported an “error” and “inexplicable circumstances” that led to the crash.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said that “the whole of Spain is in mourning” after a rail accident killed 68 people on Wednesday, expressing his solidarity with the victims’ families and the injured.
“Lives shattered, families broken,” he said, speaking about the consequences of the tragedy.
Sánchez stressed that the government’s overriding priority is to care for the victims and their relatives, to locate as many survivors as possible and to ensure they receive both practical and psychological support.
He also praised the work of the emergency and Civil Protection services, as well as the coordination between the authorities involved in the operation, including the regional government, the Toledo provincial council and the town councils of Toledo and Los Yébenes.
Another of the government’s main objectives, he said, is to clarify the circumstances of the accident. The Rail Accident Investigation Commission and the courts are working to determine the cause of the crash, while the Ministry of Transport is also trying to establish what happened.
Sánchez warned that the government would respond firmly if failures in the safety systems were confirmed.
In January, two high-speed trains collided in the southern region of Andalusia after one of them derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people.
The investigation into that accident is ongoing, but the left-wing government faced heavy criticism over its management of Spain’s railways.
Referring to the rail accident in Adamuz, Sánchez said it was “unacceptable” for two rail tragedies to occur in the same year, and pledged to work to restore public confidence in the safety of the rail system and in public transport.
The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, updated the death toll, which has now risen to 68. He also said health services have treated 53 people, 15 of them in a serious condition.
García-Page thanked the various administrations for their coordination, and the other regions for making their resources available to deal with the emergency.
Sánchez also announced three days of official mourning in Spain in memory of the victims.
He made the statement without taking questions from journalists.
Source: www.euronews.com
