Pedro Sánchez points out that there could be victims of 27 nationalities in the train crash in Spain

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured that his administration is working “tirelessly” to identify the 69 people who died in the collision of two high-speed trains. Meanwhile, relatives of the victims are experiencing moments of anguish while waiting for information about their missing loved ones.

Speaking to the media this October 30, Sánchez noted that among the victims there could be people of 27 nationalities. However, he clarified that the authorities are working with the consulates to verify this information.

“We are working tirelessly across all branches of the State (…) to try to provide and release as much reliable information as soon as possible to the victims’ families,” the president noted after a meeting with emergency services, near Urda, a municipality in the center of the country where the tragedy occurred.

Sánchez reiterated the Government’s “commitment” to inform the families about the whereabouts of their loved ones as the identification process of the victims of this accident, which occurred on the morning of October 21, progresses. According to the information provided, a train from the state-owned company Renfe rear-ended another from the company Iryo, which was stopped on the tracks, about 150 kilometers south of Madrid.

For his part, Emiliano García-Page, president of Castilla-La Mancha, the region where the accident occurred, reported that there are “70 missing persons reports”.

These reports could correspond to deceased individuals who have not yet been identified.

These reports could correspond to deceased individuals who have not yet been identified.

“We do not rule out that there may be more fatalities,” warned García-Page. Furthermore, he detailed that rescuers have recovered “complete bodies” and collected “up to 31 bags with partial remains,” which represents great complexity for the identification process.

After providing DNA samples, numerous relatives of the missing persons remain waiting in the city of Toledo, where identifications are being carried out at the morgue, as confirmed by an AFP journalist.

As of the last update on Thursday, “48 autopsies” had been performed and “5 identifications had been notified to the victims’ families,” indicated the judicial body in charge of this process.

Meanwhile, search efforts continued this October 30th among the remains of the destroyed train cars. Rescue teams worked with the help of three large cranes and specialized dogs.

Although the tasks were progressing, there were still remains to be checked, as indicated by Esther Padilla, spokesperson for the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, in an interview with the public television station TVE.