By Jaime Lopez
MADRID, Oct 29 (Reuters) – When his train drew to a halt, Sebastian Herrero thought the stoppage was due to a fallen overhead line, a problem that has increasingly beset Spain’s high-speed railway network in recent years.
But concerns about arriving late at his destination were suddenly interrupted when he found himself flying through the air and landing face-first on the seat opposite as another train slammed into the back of his.
Herrero, 46, was on his way on Wednesday to Seville from Madrid on an early-morning train operated by Iryo when a train operated by state-owned Renfe ploughed into it, sending its final three carriages careering down a raised embankment in a crash that killed 69 people.
Herrero and others in his carriage escaped by scrambling down the embankment and crossing a fence into a field. Looking back, he realised the extent of the accident for the first time.
“The scene was devastating. You saw carriages completely burnt out, as if they’d exploded. What you see coming out were people in a very bad way, and others who start pulling out the bodies of the deceased and placing them right there next to where we were,” Herrero said in an interview in Seville.
Herrero, who said he feels “born again” after surviving the disaster, was fortunate that his carriage was near the front of the train, but the impact still left many passengers with broken arms or noses.
DILEMMA AFTER JANUARY CRASH
The crash followed another accident that killed dozens in January and involved the same rail companies on the same line near the town of Adamuz. It has revived a debate about safety and maintenance on Spain’s high-speed rail network, Europe’s longest and — until recently — a source of pride for Spaniards.
Herrero remembers people asking him after the Adamuz accident whether he felt safe taking the train.
“I remember when the Adamuz thing happened because I spent a month and a half thinking about lots of things, as I had to drive there and the roads aren’t exactly in the best condition either,” he said.
“Petrol isn’t at its cheapest right now, far from it, and flying isn’t an option. So for many of us who have that connection between Seville and Madrid and whose lives depend on it, you can’t see any other solution.”
For many of the people of different nationalities and backgrounds involved in Wednesday’s accident, the prevailing feeling was one of indignation.
“It is high time for whoever is responsible to take responsibility,” Herrero said.
“I don’t know whether it is up to the courts to say so, or whether it is up to politicians, or whether it is for the Spanish people to decide, but what is clear is that it is unacceptable for this to happen and it is inconceivable that it could ever happen again,” he added.
(Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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