Pedro Sánchez: "Confidence in high-speed rail has been shattered, and the Government's task is not only to identify the causes, but also to offer solutions to ensure that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again"

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, stated this morning that "confidence in our country's high-speed rail system has been shattered, and the Government's role is not merely to analyse the situation and identify the causes, but to offer solutions to ensure that a tragedy of this magnitude - as the Head of State said yesterday, King Felipe VI, never happens again". He made these remarks during a press conference following a meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (CECOPI) at the Castilla-La Mancha 112 Centre in Toledo, where the emergency response to the Urda rail accident - which has now been raised to level 1 - is being coordinated. The head of the Executive was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, and the Government Delegate in Castilla-La Mancha, José Pablo Sabrido.

His statement was as follows:

Thank you very much, president, Emiliano. I would also like to echo his sentiments regarding the vital role played by the media in this sort of crisis in providing accurate, objective and detailed coverage of how this emergency - this tragedy - is unfolding, not only to the citizens directly affected, but also to the general public, who are showing extraordinary solidarity in the face of the consequences of this rail accident.

I would like to reiterate once again not only our condolences, but also the commitment of the Government of Spain's General State Administration to the victims, to the injured, and to the families of the victims and the injured, who are, as we fully understand, experiencing a situation of extraordinary anxiety as they wait to find out what the future holds for those who remain missing today and who have yet to receive a concrete response from the authorities.

All branches of government and all public servants are working tirelessly to provide the families of the victims with as much reliable information as possible, as soon as possible.

Yes, I would also like to add something important that President Emiliano García-Page has said, namely that the General State Administration, the Civil Protection Service and other authorities are providing all the material support, all the human support and all the psychological support needed in circumstances that are absolutely unimaginable for those of us here today.

This commitment is in place, and it is already being put into action. We are currently informing individuals about the whereabouts of their loved ones and the identification of the deceased; we will continue to provide updates to the families of the victims of this terrible accident as the identification process moves forward.

As the president has said, we are moving to emergency level 1. He has made explicit reference to the extraordinary cooperation and collaboration that has taken place between institutions. He has also made a remarkable reference to the solidarity shown by the people of Castilla-La Mancha towards the rest of the regions of our country. I would like, Mr President, to do the same with regard to the solidarity shown by the people of Castilla-La Mancha. I believe that, at a time like this, the professionalism of the public servants of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, the provincial councils, the local entities and the regional ministries is certainly commendable; it is characterised by extraordinary efficiency in very dramatic situations, by absolute empathy and, of course, we, within the Civil Protection system, can only acknowledge that professionalism and expertise, and also recognise in the people of Castilla-La Mancha the extraordinary empathy and solidarity they have shown towards the victims of this accident and their families.

The victims and their families are not only Spanish, but include people of up to 27 different nationalities who may have lost their lives in this rail disaster. As you know, we are, of course, liaising and coordinating with all the consulates of the countries whose nationals were victims of this accident to ensure they receive the most up-to-date and detailed information possible about their citizens.

And I would like to make one final point. Naturally, the Ministry of Transport and the Government of Spain are continuing to investigate what happened in order to establish the causes of this rail accident. I said it on the very first day: it is unacceptable for a country like Spain, with a high-speed system as advanced as ours, to suffer two accidents of this nature and magnitude in a single year; therefore, what we are going to do is not only investigate the causes of what happened, but also propose solutions to further strengthen the high-speed system in our country.

There is a breakdown of trust in our country's high-speed rail system, and the government's role is not only to carry out an assessment and identify the causes, but also to offer solutions to ensure that a tragedy of this magnitude - as the Head of State, King Felipe VI, said yesterday - never happens again; and that is what we are working on.

Thank you very much.

Non official translation