By Miriam Serradilla Martín
Urda, Spain, Oct 28 (EFE).- Residents of Urda rallied to help survivors of Wednesday’s deadly train collision, offering food, water and transport, while relatives of missing passengers waited anxiously for news of their loved ones.
The crash, in the municipality of around 2,500 people in the central Spanish province of Toledo, involved two high-speed trains and left at least 64 people dead, according to the provisional toll.
In the hours after the collision, the town’s sports hall was turned into a reception centre for less seriously injured passengers, many of whom were brought there by bus or in private cars driven by volunteers.
Among those offering help was Judith, a local resident who arrived with water and food.
“It is time to help in whatever way possible,” she told EFE, adding that “the people save the people” and that “there is no shortage of hands” to assist those affected.
Rosete, who was travelling in the third carriage of one of the trains, was among the injured.
The train had stopped roughly halfway through the journey, he explained, with the driver telling passengers they were being held up because of congestion.
About half an hour later, the collision occurred.
“We were all thrown forward,” he said. “The carriage suddenly broke.”
When he got up, he saw the other train overturned in front of him. He described the scene as “disastrous.”
Rosete said he crouched down and covered his head as objects fell around him. Rescuers eventually pulled him out.
He said he was doing well, despite suffering a blow to the nose that caused bleeding.
Tania, who was travelling in the fifth carriage of the train that was struck, said it had stopped for around 15 minutes before moving again and braking abruptly.
“There was a very big impact,” she said, adding that passengers helped one another in the aftermath.
Meanwhile, relatives who had called hospitals without managing to locate their loved ones made their way to the sports hall, hoping to find them among those with less serious injuries.
Some waited in tears for information, while others voiced anger over railway maintenance, describing the disaster as “a disgrace” and lamenting that such incidents happen in Spain “again and again.”
According to information released by the Transport Ministry, one of the trains was carrying 378 passengers when it collided with the other, which had 147 passengers, according to railway company Renfe’s records. Several carriages fell down an embankment.
The provisional death toll stood at 64, with more than 50 people injured. Firefighters and ambulance crews were dispatched to the scene.
Renfe said it had activated its railway accident assistance plan for victims and their families and set up a telephone line for relatives. EFE
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