A school in the nearby village of Urda, about 130 kilometers south of Madrid, was set up to allow families to learn about their loved ones. Less than a year after a previous accident that left 46 dead, the tragedy occurred on the key line linking Madrid to the southern city of Seville.
Faced with this tragedy, the authorities stressed the need to be with the families of the victims to show them closeness, believing that words are not enough at such a moment.
Red Cross teams provided support to the groups of people who arrived on site, some in tears, in the middle of a network bringing together police officers and journalists from around the world.
Emergency services searched the wreckage throughout the night for other victims, hoisting pieces of mangled metal using cranes as journalists looked on.
Discussing the circumstances of the accident, a witness reported a very violent impact, describing people on the ground on top of each other, seats torn off and great confusion on board the trains.
In a quarter of an hour, a Renfe train traveled 25 kilometers, according to the minister, before hitting an Iryo train which had remained stationary in a straight line and at a speed still unknown. This rail disaster, the worst in the country since 2013 and the second of its type this year, left at least 68 dead and more than a hundred injured according to reports.