Young athlete and former minister among victims of Spain train crash
A high‑speed train collision near Urda killed 69 people, including long‑jumper Julieta Gallego and ex‑employment minister Fátima Báñez.
A deadly train collision near Urda in central Spain on Wednesday morning claimed 69 lives and injured more than 100 people. The accident occurred when a high‑speed Renfe train struck a stationary Iryo train on the same track, causing several carriages to derail.
Among the victims were Julieta Gallego, 24, a Spanish long‑jump athlete who competed for Madrid club AD Sprint, and Fátima Báñez, 59, former employment minister and chair of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE).
Gallego, who regularly competed in Spanish club championships and recorded a personal best of 5.9 m (19 ft 3 in), was mourned by the athletics community. The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation announced her death and expressed condolences, while the club posted on Instagram that “the entire club is heartbroken.”
RFEF president Raúl Chapado told ABC that her death is “a blow that strikes at the very heart of the athletics family,” adding that “today the sport mourns the passing of Julieta, a life ahead of her that has been unjustly extinguished.”
Báñez, the first woman to hold the employment minister post, served from 2011 to 2018 under former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and introduced labour reforms in 2012 that sparked mass protests. CEOE confirmed her death, praising her “warmth, generosity, and commitment.”
The bodies of those killed have been taken to the main forensics institute in Toledo, where families are providing DNA samples to aid identification. Reports indicate that relatives are still searching for missing loved ones in hospitals across the region, and officials warn the death toll could rise.
This incident is the second rail disaster in Spain this year and the worst in the country since 2013.
