Spain Village Holds Memorial Mass for 69 Train Crash Victims
On Saturday, local residents and government officials convened in the Spanish village of Urda to hold a memorial Mass for the victims of a high-speed rail disaster that claimed at least 69 lives.
Packed Pews and Mourning in Urda
The pews inside the San Juan Bautista church in Urda, located in the central province of Toledo, were packed for the service. Dozens more people gathered outside to listen while some attendees wiped away tears. Urda has a population of around 2,500.
The president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano Garcia-Page, and Urda mayor Manuel Galan attended the service alongside local residents. Galan told Spanish public television ahead of the Mass that villagers “are very badly affected, in great pain and with a great need for support”, as reported by TRT World.
Investigators Probe Deadly Train Collision in Spain
Investigators are looking into the cause of one of Europe’s deadliest rail disasters this century. The crash occurred on Wednesday when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville barrelled into a stationary train.
This is Spain’s second major train disaster this year. A separate incident in January resulted in 46 fatalities when a train derailed and collided with the side of another moving in the opposite direction along the same path, in the vicinity of the southern village of Adamuz.
Antonio Garcia Colina, a 78-year-old village pharmacist in Urda, rushed to the scene in his car shortly after the collision to try to help the injured. He told AFPTV that he witnessed several people dying and described the scene as “hellish”.
Archbishop Cerro Addresses Mourners
The Archbishop of Toledo, Francisco Cerro, expressed to those in attendance that the time elapsed since the catastrophe felt like a “Good Friday for us all”. He acknowledged that “there are no words that can offer comfort” to those who lost loved ones.
Dear families affected by the train accident, you are not alone. Society is with you, the best of society is with you.
Archbishop Cerro urged the public not to forget the tragedy and called for such disasters never to happen again. He further commended the actions of volunteers and emergency personnel, expressing gratitude to police, firefighters, rescue crews, and healthcare workers for their dedication, while praising what he referred to as “a genuine wave of solidarity”.
The Agonising Wait for Identification
Relatives of the victims have been providing DNA samples to help identify the dead. They face an agonising wait for news as rescue teams continue to sift through the wreckage and forensic experts work to identify bodies.
Authorities overseeing the process have completed autopsies on all 69 people killed in the crash. Discrepancies exist in official counts regarding ongoing identifications: Channel NewsAsia and other outlets report that 56 bodies have been identified so far, including 54 Spanish nationals, one French national, and one Portuguese national.