Young athlete and former minister among victims of Spain train crash
A collision between two trains near Urda in central Spain has killed 69 people. Victims include 24-year-old long jumper Julieta Gallego and former employment minister Fátima Báñez.
Two trains collided near Urda in central Spain on Wednesday morning, killing 69 people. Among the dead are 24-year-old athlete Julieta Gallego and former Spanish employment minister Fátima Báñez. It is the second rail disaster in Spain this year and the country's deadliest since 2013.
The crash involved a high-speed Renfe train and a stationary Iryo train on the same track. The impact derailed carriages. More than 100 people were injured, many of them seriously. There are fears the death toll could rise, as families search hospitals across the region for missing relatives.
The bodies have been taken to the main forensics institute in Toledo, where relatives are giving DNA samples to help identify them.
Who the victims are
Julieta Gallego was a long jumper who competed for the Madrid club AD Sprint and regularly took part in Spanish club championships. Her best jump was 5.9 metres. Raúl Chapado, president of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation, called her death a blow to the heart of the athletics family.
Fátima Báñez, 59, chaired the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE). She served in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government from 2011 to 2018 and was the first woman to hold the employment portfolio. In 2012 she introduced controversial labour reforms that made it easier for companies to dismiss staff, which prompted mass protests. Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso said Spain had lost a great political figure.
Also among the dead is Civil Guard officer José Manuel Chacón, 31. Antonio Montero Domínguez, a finance and tax lawyer, also died; he had worked as an inspector at Spain's tax authority from 2012 to 2016. Legal news website El Derecho described him as a meticulous professional and tireless worker.
