The spokesperson for the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Esther Padilla, has explained that the teams deployed at the scene of the train accident in Urda (Toledo) are still working “with great care”, because it is not yet confirmed that there are no more deceased people trapped among the remains of the trains.
In statements made this Thursday on TVE, Esther Padilla stressed that the canine units will act again during the day, as the work cannot yet be considered concluded. “We must not rush or say prematurely that it is over,” she asserted.
In addition to the specialized dogs, thermal drones are being used in the area, employed to detect if there is still any body among the remains “that human sight cannot detect.” Heavy machinery is already at the scene, although the spokesperson insisted that it must operate with the utmost caution.
“You cannot simply lift the wagon, no matter how much mechanical force we have. It must be done with enough care to ensure that there is no one still inside,” explained Esther Padilla, who described the work as “very complicated” and the situation as “very difficult,” while asking to “let the professionals work as they know how.”
53 injured admitted and 15 critical patients
Regarding the injured, Esther Padilla maintained the figure of 53 people admitted to the region's hospitals, of whom 15 remain in different Intensive Care Units (ICU).
The spokesperson detailed that there are 15 people admitted to the Ciudad Real hospital, 36 to the Mancha Centro in Alcázar de San Juan, 41 to the University Hospital of Toledo, 13 in Manzanares, 4 in Valdepeñas, and one more person in Albacete.
Likewise, she indicated that even during the night of this past Wednesday, injured people continued to be operated on, and she stressed that the regional Executive will be “very attentive” to the evolution of the 15 “critical” patients, concentrated mainly in Ciudad Real, Alcázar de San Juan, and Toledo.
Attention to families and reception resources in Toledo
Regarding the attention to the families of the deceased, injured, and those who still have no contact with their loved ones, Esther Padilla recalled that the telephone number 900 122 112 has been enabled to resolve doubts or facilitate contact with the affected people. “All the information we collect from the different emergency teams is provided to them,” she commented.
In Toledo, in addition, two spaces have been enabled to accommodate people who have injured or deceased family members, given that accommodation in the city is “complicated.” These are the Castillo de San Servando hostel and the Archbishopric's Pastoral House, made available to these families.
Coordination between administrations and citizen response
Finally, the spokesperson for the Government of Castilla-La Mancha highlighted that the coordination and willingness of the other administrations, both the central Government and the autonomous communities, provincial councils, and city councils, has been “very good.”
Esther Padilla stated that from the first moment there was availability and collaboration from the Government of Spain, with the dispatch of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), as well as from other autonomous communities. Although the first calls came from neighboring regions, she added, finally all the autonomies made human and material resources available to improve care.
She also wanted to acknowledge the work of the volunteers, both those coordinated through the Volunteer Platform and individual people who approached places like the shelter installed in Urda to “lend a hand in whatever was necessary.”
All of this, she added, without forgetting the “spectacular” citizen response in the five provinces to the call for blood donation, which even forced people in Toledo to be referred to health centers because “the amount of people who came to donate blood was impressive.”