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King Felipe and Queen Letizia inspect rescue efforts and thank locals and volunteers for their dedication
Two days after the horrific railway accident in Adamuz, the King and Queen of Spain traveled to Córdoba on Tuesday to visit "Ground Zero" and offer their support to the victims, their families, and the rescue teams.
During the three-hour visit, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia witnessed the desolate scene of the crash, which has left at least 41 dead and over 100 injured. They heard firsthand accounts from the "anonymous heroes" who have been working tirelessly since Sunday afternoon to locate potential victims still trapped inside the twisted wreckage of the Alvia 2384 train, which was en route from Madrid to Huelva.
"We would like to acknowledge the high level of professionalism of all those who have been involved in dealing with the emergency, wherever they come from, and the willingness of all the administrations to work together and coordinate everything," said the monarch as he left the Reina Sofía University Hospital, which is receiving the majority of the injured.
There the King and Queen were able to talk to the medical team about the care provided to all those affected and to visit some of them and their families. According to the latest report, 39 people affected in the incident remain in hospital, 35 adults and four children, while 83 of the 122 people assisted have already been discharged.
Previously, the King and Queen travelled to the Poniente Sur Civic Centre in the Cordoban capital to meet with the psychologists and health workers who are attending to the victims' families, to inquire about the support and accompaniment system set up after the tragedy. "The families are very affected and grateful for the way they have been cared for," said Felipe VI at the end of the visit.
The monarchs showed their support and "the affection of the whole country", while also praising the "collective effort" of the institutions, the emergency services and the volunteers and neighbours who have unhesitatingly thrown themselves into helping the victims. A country has many ways of showing its strength, and one of them," said the head of state, "is how emergencies are dealt with and how services are coordinated, and how people feel protected and protected.
Speaking to journalists, Felipe VI pointed out that "no matter how good infrastructure is" there are accidents. The Adamuz accident, the most serious rail accident since the Alvia at Angrois in 2013, was "very tragic", but the monarch acknowledged that "it could have been much worse" but, fortunately, "early attention" has minimised the number of fatalities. "We are all responsible for not looking away when clearing the rubble of a catastrophe," added Queen Letizia.
Visit to ground zero
The King and Queen began their visit at ground zero of the tragedy. Accompanied by the President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, and the Vice-President of the Government, María Jesús Montero, they arrived at the advanced command post.
There they were able to talk to representatives of the Guardia Civil, the Military Emergency Unit (UME), the Fire Brigade of the Cordoba City Council and the Provincial Council and all the bodies involved who have been involved since Sunday afternoon in the rescue work and who are working to examine and investigate the causes of the incident.
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia also took the opportunity to speak with the mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Ángel Moreno, whom they thanked for the response of this town of four thousand inhabitants, which has been involved with the injured from the first minute.
They were able to greet some of the neighbours who helped in the first critical moments. One of them was Julio Rodríguez, the 16-year-old boy who unexpectedly encountered the tragedy when he was returning from fishing with a friend and helped in the rescue of the passengers who remained trapped in the carriages. "The King was moved and told me that he saw the young people of Spain reflected in me, that everyone should be like me", the teenager said shortly afterwards in an interview on Telecinco.
The monarchs then went to the site of the wrecked trains where they were briefed on the circumstances of the accident. In view was the Alvia train that derailed after the brutal impact, and on which the most difficult tasks are now focused, as it is expected that new corpses will be found when they are removed.
