'It's happened again': latest rail tragedy in Spain reopens old wounds for Adamuz accident victims and loved ones

The disaster in the Montes de Toledo has shaken all surviving victims and the families of the deceased of 18 January. For Fidel, who endured agonising moments in Adamuz trying to track down half his family, the news has transported him straight back to those hours.

"Without a doubt, the worst of our lives," he admitted. Fidel lost his mother on that Alvia train travelling from Madrid to Huelva. He said that travelling by train has become "torture for passengers and their families" and criticised the fact that the Adamuz investigation remains unresolved, with the evidence "shelved".

To the families who are currently searching for their loved ones among the derailed carriages in Urda, Fidel urges them to "hold on to hope, because that is the only thing they can do right now". "In the first few hours, they will find no comfort and will ask themselves a thousand questions to which they will find no answers," he said.

Carmelo's 22-year-old son was on the Alvia train when the crash happened on 18 January this year. He remained trapped inside one of the carriages until after 11pm, when some local young men managed to rescue him.

Juan Carlos suffered fractures to his ulna and radius. Nine months on, the injuries that still torment him are psychological. His father told Sur that the young man suffers from recurring nightmares, panic attacks and anxiety that prevent him from returning to normal life or going out in public.

Overcome by anger at this latest tragedy, Carmelo said that "it is utterly unjust that they have ruined the life of a 22-year-old man". He also encouraged the families waiting to hear news about their loved ones. "The only thing I want to say to them, with all the strength in the world, is that they must never, ever stop fighting."

The accident at kilometre 118 of the high-speed line also devastated the family of Cristina, the seven-year-old girl who is the sole survivor of her family. Her uncle Juan Carlos was struggling to find the words and hold back his tears. He said that Wednesday's news is a setback in the therapy they have been undergoing for the past nine months.

His niece Cristina, devastated by the loss of all her closest family members, is coming to terms with her grief in a way that is typical of her age. "She reminds us of them every day," Juan Carlos said, referring to the emotional impact that a rail tragedy has on young people.

For Mario Samper, president of the association of victims of the Adamuz derailment, this latest collision is "a warning that has been ignored".

"We have been saying for months that situations like ours could happen again. In fact, two months ago we asked Cabinet to suspend high-speed services due to the state of the network, something that train drivers and professionals themselves are speaking out against, but our concerns were ignored," he said.

In response to reports suggesting a possible human error among the lines of inquiry, Samper flatly rejected this initial theory: "Human error does not exist as the sole cause. There is always an accumulation of technical faults. Trains must be designed so that, should a human error occur, a technical safeguard prevents the accident."

Samper offers the organisation's support to the families affected by the accident in Urda and advises them "to consult their lawyers immediately, as they will face a bureaucratic maze, in addition to the extremely severe physical and psychological impact". "They must not stop fighting," he said.

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