PRIME Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced a period of national mourning and a ‘transparent’ investigation into the crash between two high-speed trains in Cordoba province that killed at least 39 people and left dozens injured.
Sanchez went to the site near Adamuz on Monday, following last night’s tragedy.
The premier said that today ‘is a day of sorrow for all of Spain’ and said that three days of mourning would start at midnight.”
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“We are wondering what has happened. Time and the work of the experts will provide the answer,” he stated.
“We will uncover the truth with absolute transparency and make it known to the public.”
Sanchez continued: “I can guarantee the victims that we will be protecting them and assisting them for as long as necessary.”
He also highlighted the work of all the public servants and all of the emergency services, from medics and the city hall right up to national government, ‘in a moment of such pain and tragedy’.
Andalucia’s president Juanma Moreno- also at the crash-site said they’ve had to deal with an unprecedented disaster.
48 people are currently in hospital, he said, adding hopefully they will be discharged soon.
Moreno said authorities are trying to identify those who died.
“There are many hours of very hard work ahead of us and each level of administration will do everything we can to help,” he added.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church has said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the deadly train crash in Spain.
In a statement, Pope Leo offered his prayers for the victims and ‘heartfelt’ condolences to their families, while also wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.
Alvaro Fernandez Heredia – the president of rail operator Renfe, which ran one of the trains involved in the crash – says ‘human error is practically ruled out’ as a cause of the collision.
Speaking to Cadena Ser Radio, Heredia said the crash happened in ‘strange conditions’ but added it was too early to talk about the cause.
He also said a commission tasked with investigating the collision is at the site to collect evidence.
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