The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, decreed three days of official mourning today following the train tragedy that has left a preliminary death toll of 39.

The national mourning period will begin at midnight and last until midnight on Thursday, January 22, the Prime Minister announced in Andalusia, where he visited this morning to assess the magnitude of the train accident.

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It is feared that the death toll will rise, as authorities in charge of rescue and assistance operations have identified at least 39 other people missing.

Sánchez commented that the country is in shock and that the least that can be done is to publicly offer condolences to the families and loved ones of those who died in the accident that occurred Sunday night in Adamuz (Córdoba).

The Prime Minister toured the site of the train accident today to get a firsthand look at the emergency situation and the latest updates on the work being carried out by the various teams.

“Today is a day of sorrow for all of Spain, for our entire country, and our thoughts, if they are directed to anyone, are with the victims and their families, to whom we wish to send our remembrance, our thoughts, our solidarity, and the full support of Spanish society in these moments that defy description or definition in words,” he stated.

He added that every tragedy demands two things from society and its institutions, which have already been pointed out: first, unity in grief, and second, unity in response.

With the exception of the far-right Vox party, which dedicated itself to attacking the government with furious tirades from its leader, Santiago Abascal, the other political parties expressed their sorrow and their willingness to face this tragedy with national unity.

In his address, Sánchez questioned how this tragedy could have occurred and answered himself that with time and the work of the experts, “I am convinced, we will find the answer. And that is one of the ideas I would also like to convey (…) that we are going to uncover the truth (…)”.

The incident took place at 7:39 p.m. local time yesterday, when an Iryo train bound for Madrid, carrying 317 people, derailed its last three cars and crossed onto the adjacent track.

At that precise moment, another train, an Alvia operated by Renfe, was traveling to Huelva and also derailed. The Iryo train collided with two Alvia cars in Adamuz, which were thrown off and plunged down an embankment approximately four meters high.

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