Toledo honors 69 killed in train collision — Tagesschau

A memorial Mass for 69 people killed in a collision between two high-speed trains on the Madrid–Seville route was held at Toledo Cathedral in Spain. Sixty-nine candles were placed in the center of the church, one in memory of each victim. Residents of Urda, a town near the crash site, took turns placing candles beside a cross specially brought to Toledo, Tagesschau reports.

Memorial ceremony at the cathedral

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended the ceremony. Among the relatives of the victims was Ana Benítez, who lost her brother David in the crash. She read an excerpt from the First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, ending with the words: “Encourage one another with these words.”

People who regularly used the high-speed trains on this line also came to the cathedral. Bárbara Molero said that before the crash, she traveled daily by AVE train from Toledo to Madrid, and the news of the disaster stayed with her throughout the day.

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Cause of collision being investigated

The causes of the crash have not yet been definitively established. According to Tagesschau, one of the trains was given a signal from the dispatch center in Madrid to continue moving. It was traveling at nearly 200 km/h and crashed into another train that remained on the track.

Acting Transport Minister Carlos Cuerpo and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the largest opposition People’s Party, also attended the memorial service. Pilar Fernández, a People’s Party member of the Urda city council, said that what mattered most to her that evening was the tragedy of 69 families and the people who remain in hospitals, rather than political differences.