Spain Declares Mourning After Andalusia Train Crash (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of Sunday's high-speed train crash in Andalusia. On a visit to the scene, Mr Sánchez said there would be a transparent investigation into the cause of the disaster. The number of confirmed dead has now just risen to 41. The crash happened when a high-speed train from Madrid to Malaga derailed, hitting a train coming in the opposite direction. Our correspondent Guy Hedgcoe is in nearby Córdoba.

[00:00:31] Speaker 2: The rescue workers are still sifting through the wreckage of the accident, still looking for the bodies of people who lost their lives in that collision, and we have been told by the authorities that they do expect the death toll to increase further over the coming hours or days. In terms of the investigation, we've been told that the idea that there might have been human error has been virtually ruled out. So investigators are believed to be looking very closely at the train that derailed, causing the accident, and also the stretch of rail where the accident happened. Now, you know, obviously the fact that this accident took place on a straight stretch of track surprised many people. It wasn't on a bend or a curve. So the track is going to be looked at very closely. But I think we're not going to expect any conclusions in terms of the cause of the accident necessarily very soon.

[00:01:31] Speaker 1: And these three days of national mourning, Guy, declared by the prime minister, what effect is this having, the reaction there? People must be very shocked.

[00:01:42] Speaker 2: Well, yes. I mean, yesterday I was in Adamuth, which is the town right next to the crash site. And that's the town where a lot of local people turned out on the evening that the crash happened to help the people who were in the accident, to help them, help pull them out of the trains, provide blankets and food for them, or in some cases take them back to the town or give them medical care. So that town was particularly heavily affected. The people there are certainly in shock at this. But I think across Spain in general, people are shocked by this accident. We haven't seen an accident like this since 2013, when a train derailed up in the northwest of the country, killing 80 people. And people generally had great faith in their rail systems. So it's come as a great shock, I think. And obviously some of the stories emerging from those who were killed in the accident have been absolutely heartbreaking as well.

[00:02:43] Speaker 1: Joy Hedgcoe there. And there is the scene of that terrible, terrible rail accident in Adamuth in Andalusia. The force of the crash pushed the carriages of the second train into an embankment, according to the transport minister. And most of those killed and injured were in the front carriages of that second train travelling south from Madrid. But the operation is still continuing, the rescue operation. In terms of victims, just in the last hour, that has risen to 41 people confirmed dead as a result of this crash.