King Felipe and Queen Letizia visit survivors of Toledo train crash
Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited survivors of the Toledo train crash on Thursday 29 October, and thanked the staff treating them at Toledo University Hospital. The couple had cancelled all of their engagements the day before.
Two high-speed trains collided on the Madrid–Seville line between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, in Toledo province, on Wednesday morning. More than 500 passengers were travelling on the two trains. At least 69 people have died, according to Hello Magazine. That makes it Spain's worst rail accident since 2013, when an Alvia high-speed train derailment killed 78 people.
On Wednesday the couple issued a short statement of sympathy. As Hola reported, it said: "We share in the sorrow of the families."
The King was at the Jaime I military base in Bétera, near Valencia, when news of the crash broke. He cut short the exercise he was observing and returned to Madrid to follow the emergency, Hello reported.
At the hospital, King Felipe was greeted by the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page. The royals' arrival was pushed back by 30 minutes so that it would not interfere with a shift change. Minister of Education Milagros Tolón and regional health minister Jesús Fernández Sanz joined them.
The Royal Household, the office that organises the family's public duties, keeps an official listing of activities. That listing describes a visit to the railway accident area and to people in hospital with injuries. Hello's account confirms the hospital visit, where the couple spoke with survivors and thanked the medical teams.
For the families of those who died, the next days will bring funerals and questions about the crash. The royal visits show how the Crown responds to disasters: through statements, cancelled diaries and personal visits, rather than any formal role in the emergency response itself.
