Long jumper Gallego dies in train crash in Spain — The Independent

Spanish long jumper Julieta Gallego died as a result of a collision between two high-speed trains in the province of Toledo, Spain. The accident occurred on Wednesday, killing at least 69 people and injuring more than 100 others, The Independent reports.

Federation’s condolences

The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation reported the death of the 24-year-old athlete on Thursday and expressed condolences to her family, friends and teammates at the AD Sprint club. Gallego represented the Madrid club AD Sprint and regularly competed in Spain’s club championships.

The athlete’s personal best in the long jump was 5.90 metres. She set it in Antequera in 2023. Federation president Raúl Chapado told ABC newspaper that the sports community was mourning Gallego.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Crash circumstances

There were a total of 544 people on the two trains that collided shortly after 9:00. Several carriages derailed on the section between the towns of Mora and Orgaz near Toledo. Footage from the regional broadcaster Castilla-La Mancha shows a carriage that remained on an elevated section of track, as well as fragments of metal and panels on the slope below the railway bed.

According to Spanish media, former Minister of Employment and Social Security Fátima Báñez, who was a member of the government from 2011 to 2018, was among the passengers on one of the trains. Sources close to her told Democrata that she had also died, although the report presents this as information from those sources. The search for survivors in the damaged carriages continued. This is the second fatal accident in less than a year on the railway line connecting Madrid with southern Andalusia.