Urda crash: 12 foreign nationals among 69 victims identified

Authorities have identified 66 of the 69 people killed in Wednesday’s collision near Urda, Toledo province, including 12 foreign nationals from nine countries, the Integrated Data Centre (CID) said late Sunday. Three victims remain unidentified, while investigators continue recovery work at the site.

Identification and families

The CID said 54 of those identified were Spanish nationals. The foreign victims include four US citizens and one each from Argentina, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, Mexico, Portugal and Tunisia. The identifications were made through fingerprints in 53 cases and DNA in 13.

Relatives of 60 identified victims have been informed; families of six others are still being contacted. Families have been given access to the remains of 47 victims. Authorities are awaiting the arrival of relatives of the three people who have not yet been identified. Three missing-person reports also remain open, concerning two Australians and one Japanese citizen.

More than 60 specialists have worked on post-mortem examinations and identification in Toledo since Wednesday. The CID brings together police and forensic data; Guardia Civil specialists handled fingerprint matching, with DNA testing by the National Institute of Toxicology and the Guardia Civil.

Injured and investigation

Thirty-nine people remain in hospital, according to the Castilla-La Mancha regional government. Twenty-nine are being treated in the region, including nine in intensive care, while ten are in hospitals in Madrid and Andalusia.

The crash occurred when a Renfe AVE train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo service. Around 50 Guardia Civil personnel remain at the scene as recovery crews search the damaged Iryo carriages and surrounding area. The investigation is examining how the trains came to be on the same stretch of track; the circumstances of control-centre instructions and safety systems remain under scrutiny.

The collision killed 69 people and is Spain’s second fatal high-speed rail crash this year, after 46 people died in January’s Adamuz accident. The government began three days of national mourning on Thursday and has promised an investigation.

Source: Spain English and The Local Spain.