King Felipe visits train crash survivors and urges action to prevent another tragedy

The collision occurred at 8.53am on Wednesday A total of 544 passengers were travelling on the two services: 397 aboard the AVE 2080 and 147 on Iryo’s 6076 service. ALSO READ: Toledo crash recordings reveal restart orders as Iryo driver reported train still stopped.

King urges answers and preventive action

Speaking after the hospital visit, Felipe VI expressed his ‘anguish and sadness’ and urged society to face the aftermath together. ALSO READ: Transport Minister says decision to let AVE proceed before fatal Toledo crash was ‘inexplicable’.

‘As a society, we are once again suffering a devastating blow, but we must keep moving forward with that pain, without forgetting the wound left by so many people who have lost their lives and whose absence is felt throughout the country,’ he said. ALSO READ: Sánchez pledges firm action over Toledo train disaster as Feijóo demands answers.

The king called for ‘measures to ensure this does not happen again’, stressing the importance of establishing the circumstances of the collision.

‘There is, evidently, an investigation under way; it must determine how and why this catastrophe happened,’ he said.

He also paid tribute to those involved in the emergency response and the continuing care of survivors and relatives.

‘Thank you to everyone who responded to the emergency and to all those who continue working to rescue the missing. Also to those who continue caring for the injured and doing everything possible to give their families strength.’

Spain’s Education Minister Milagros Tolón and Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page accompanied the royal couple. The Royal Household has cancelled engagements scheduled for the coming days, including events in Madrid and the Canary Islands. ALSO READ: Spain’s latest rail tragedy puts safety and accountability at centre of election campaign.

First victims named

Former employment and social security minister Fátima Báñez, Guardia Civil officer José Manuel Chacón, athlete Julieta Gallego Gámez and tax inspector Antonio Montero Domínguez are among those whose deaths have been reported.

Báñez, who served as a minister from 2011 to 2018 and subsequently became president of the CEOE employers’ organisation’s foundation, had been travelling to Seville for an Andalusian business event. The CEOE confirmed her death after hours of uncertainty, expressing its condolences to her family. Its vice-president, Lorenzo Amor, wrote: ‘May heaven embrace you, my friend Fátima.’

Chacón, 31, from Seville, served in the Guardia Civil’s Technical Judicial Police Unit in Madrid and was returning to spend time with his family. His mother was informed of his death in person at the Eritaña Guardia Civil barracks in Seville. Gallego, a 24-year-old athlete from Madrid who specialised in long jump, was remembered by her club, Agrupación Deportiva Sprint, and the Spanish athletics federation, both of which confirmed her death.

Montero had held senior posts in the Finance Ministry and Tax Agency and was also known for his teaching and legal publications. News of his death initially emerged through a colleague travelling with him who survived the crash and recognised his body.

Identification work continues as families await news

Around 1,300 personnel from the fire services, the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), National Police, Guardia Civil and Civil Protection have been deployed at the scene. Heavy cranes are lifting damaged carriages as teams search for anyone still trapped.

At Toledo’s Institute of Legal Medicine, 25 forensic doctors, supported by police forensic specialists, are carrying out examinations and identification work under the supervision of the court in Orgaz.