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THE Spanish government will pay out over €20 million in compensation to the victims of the country’s worst train crash in over a decade, it has been announced.
Two high-speed trains derailled in Adamuz in Cordoba eleven days ago in Spain’s worst rail accident since 80 deaths in Santiago de Compostela, in 2013.
The rear carriages of a Madrid bound Iryo train carrying more than 300 passengers were flipped onto a nearby line and collided into an oncoming Huelva-bound train.
Transport minister Oscar Puente confirmed on Tuesday that the government will expedite the normal compensation process, forking out over €20 million in support for those most seriously impacted by the disaster.
READ MORE: Pictured: Fractured rail joint is at fault for the deadly high-speed Adamuz crash that killed 45 people
The families of the 45 people killed will each receive €216,000 within the next three months, consisting of €72,000 in tax-exempt government aid, an advance payment of €72,000 from civil liability insurance and an equal third sum from passengers’ mandatory travel insurance.
Puente said payments for those hurt in the disaster will range from a lower rate of €2,400 to €84,000, depending on the extent of their injuries.
He said: “We understand that normal procedures and legal timelines cannot always meet the urgent need of a tragedy such as this.” The emotional pain cannot be exacerbated by economic uncertainty.
Puente stated that the 2013 crash would not be repeated. They won’t have to wait for ten years before they receive compensation.
READ MORE: Train sensors had previously detected ‘anomalies’ at the point of the Adamuz disaster – as final death toll reaches 45
Two days after the Adamuz crash, a fatal accident occurred on Barcelona’s Rodalies commuter railway network.
After heavy rain, a train service on the R4 line came off the track between Gelida-Sant Sadumi and collided with a retaining walls that fell onto the line.
The recent spate of rail accidents has raised serious questions about the infrastructure of Spain’s network of trains, which was long considered one of Europe’s best.
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