The Spanish Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, described the train accident that occurred this Sunday in the Córdoba town of Adamuz as "extremely strange," where at least 21 people lost their lives and another 30 were injured following the derailment of an Iryo train.
Puente appeared early Monday morning from the Adif facilities at the Atocha station in Madrid, where he provided the first details about the tragedy and emphasized the unusual nature of the incident.
“It is strange, very strange, it is very difficult to explain at this moment,” he declared to the media, according to the newspaper El País.
The Minister of Transport stated that the railway specialists he spoke with during the night were "extremely surprised" by the circumstances of the incident.
He specified that both the track and the train were newly manufactured.
"The track was renewed this spring, and the Iryo train is not even four years old. All the materials were practically new," explained Puente, who will travel to Córdoba to oversee the emergency work.
The minister also announced the establishment of an independent commission tasked with investigating what happened.
“At this moment, we cannot speculate whether it was the rolling stock or the track. We don’t know,” he insisted.
According to official information, the accident occurred on a straight section of the railway line where the replacement of switches and turnouts was completed last May, an investment valued at 700 million euros.
The first two units of the Alvia train, which were carrying 53 people, were the most affected when they fell down an embankment following the derailment. Rescue teams from the fire department and Civil Protection focused their efforts in that area throughout the early morning.
Puente indicated that the results of the investigation could take several days, although he emphasized that this is a "truly unusual" episode.
Local authorities have declared an official mourning period, and the Government has expressed its solidarity with the victims' families.
"Let us hope that the investigation helps us clarify what has happened," concluded the minister.
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