The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, stated this Thursday that "every last detail" of the railway accident, which has left at least 69 fatalities, will be clarified and that security is going to be "strengthened so that it does not happen again".
A day after the railway tragedy in Urda (Toledo), caused by the collision between two high-speed trains, the head of the Executive described what happened as "a misfortune" and stressed that the central Government and the rest of the State institutions are working "day and night" to attend to the relatives of the victims and clarify what happened.
Sánchez made these statements after taking part in the meeting of the integrated operational coordination center (Cecopi), the body that directs the management of the disaster, together with the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page.
The previous day he had already warned that it is "not admissible" for a country like Spain to record two high-speed accidents — both with a high number of fatalities — in the same year, and he emphasized that if "negligences" occurred, they will eventually become known.
A "terrible" accident and the immediate priorities
Sánchez explained that, for now, the tasks are focused on the removal of the bodies that remain in the area of the disaster, the identification of the bodies and the care of the injured who remain hospitalized, around fifty at this moment.
In parallel, the teams are working on the "clarification of the causes" that have given rise to the "terrible accident" and, later, he indicated, compensation will be provided "from the material point of view" to the relatives of the victims.
The president detailed that, since the disaster occurred 24 hours ago, the Executive activated the general state emergency civil protection plan, with the deployment of Guardia Civil personnel, the Policía Nacional and the entire Civil Protection device.
Institutional coordination and assistance to the victims
The operation has been carried out under the direction of the regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, in coordination with the different administrations, with the aim of offering an "urgent and effective" response.
Likewise, he pointed out that Renfe activated the assistance plan for victims of railway accidents, setting up a telephone line and a specific care center to inform those affected and their relatives.
Iryo, the other company with a train involved in the accident, has done "the same thing," as Sánchez has pointed out, while Adif has set up an information point for those who wish to know the status of the actions after the accident.
Finally, the president has expressed his gratitude to the psychological support teams, to the public employees who remained "all night long" at the site of the accident and to the Red Cross for its intervention in a "so tragic" situation.