Abascal uses the Urda tragedy to attack Sánchez and Puente at a Vox rally in Ávila despite the mourning: "They are a sinister couple, I have infinite contempt for them"

Santiago Abascal turned the Urda railway tragedy into the center of his pre-campaign rally in Ávila this Thursday. The leader of Vox attacked Pedro Sánchez and Óscar Puente, called for the resignation of both, and resorted to insults to attack the Minister of Transport, whom he referred to as "Óscar Death".

One day after the collision between a Renfe AVE and an Iryo train in Toledo, which has left at least 69 people dead, Abascal maintained his event before about 500 people. The far-right party has decided to continue with its electoral agenda during the three days of official mourning decreed by the Government.

The event began with La muerte no es el final (Death is not the end), the song with which the Armed Forces remember their fallen. Afterwards, Abascal expressed his solidarity with the families and demanded that the accident be investigated and responsibilities be cleared. But he also took advantage of the accident to launch attacks against the Executive and call its members "corrupt" and "traitors".

The leader of the far-right Vox assured that he feels an "infinite contempt" towards Sánchez and Puente, whom he defined as a "sinister couple". He then recalled some words from the minister about the need to stop fascism in the general elections on November 29 to attack him.

"They like to stop fascism a lot. Asking these corrupt and these traitors to stop a train is asking too much of them," he said to the attendees.

Abascal accuses the Government before investigations conclude

During his speech, the far-right leader demanded that the accident "be investigated to the end". At the same time, he rejected that it could be a human or technical error and called it a "crime against the interests of Spain", an accusation he extended to the Government.

Investigations into the collision are still open and still need to determine the causes and possible responsibilities. In his first explanation, Puente pointed out that a breakdown affected the LZB security system and that, afterwards, from the Adif control center, the AVE was given the order to resume its journey normally. The train ended up hitting the Iryo, which remained stopped on the same track.

Abascal has criticized what he called the Executive's "disgusting haste" to "point the finger at a poor man, a worker". To explain it, he compared what happened to an accident in a city where traffic lights failed and demanded that the Adamuz accident, the Valencia DANA, and the blackout also be investigated.

At the rally, Abascal spoke of 74 fatalities in Urda, a figure that had been released earlier in the afternoon by the railway investigation body and which was later rectified to keep the toll at 69 fatalities. The Adamuz accident, in Córdoba, left another 46 people dead in January.

Vox maintains its pre-campaign during mourning

The event in Ávila came after the one held on Wednesday in Valladolid, also with the Urda tragedy as the central theme of Abascal's speech. The PSOE, the PP, and other parties suspended their pre-campaign events after the accident, a decision that Vox has rejected.

"We are not here to do politics, as they are saying, but to do justice," said the party president, who defended his decision to maintain the rallies and assured that he would continue to demand explanations.

In Valladolid, Abascal attended the minute of silence called for the victims after his event. Upon his arrival, shouts of support for the Vox leader and slogans against the Government were heard, including "Puente, murderer".

The demand for explanations for the accident has also reached Congress. Óscar Puente will appear next Tuesday before the Permanent Deputation, at his own request, after Frente Amplio, ERC, and Podemos demanded his presence. The minister will also offer a new press conference this Friday morning.