King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited more than 20 injured victims of the Urda train accident who remain hospitalized at Toledo Hospital on Thursday. Upon leaving, Felipe VI made statements to the media expressing his "anguish and sadness" over the tragedy and called for addressing what happened with "dignity and rigor."
"An investigation is underway; it must determine how and why this catastrophe occurred. Measures must be taken to prevent this from happening again," the King stated at the hospital entrance.
After spending more than an hour and a half at the hospital, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, in strict mourning, explained: "We wanted to dedicate a reasonable amount of time to the families we were able to greet."
"In the face of this anguish and sadness that we all feel due to the tragedy, we want to express our respect and condolences to those who have lost their lives and to their families. The most important thing at this moment is to support and show affection to the injured and those accompanying them," the Monarch affirmed, also thanking "all those who have responded to the emergency and continue to work to rescue and identify those who are still missing, attend to the injured, and do everything possible to provide comfort."
"As a society, we suffer another severe blow, but we must continue to move forward even with that pain, never forgetting the wound left by so many people who have lost their lives, who are missed by their families and by the entire country," Felipe VI stated. "Let us move forward with the pain of their loss; let us do it together, united, also with dignity and rigor. An investigation is underway, which must determine how and why this catastrophe occurred, and measures must be taken to prevent this from happening again," concluded the head of state.
The King and Queen also visited the Diocesan House of Exercises "El Buen Pastor" in Toledo, where they listened to explanations from psychologists and support teams for the families of the missing and deceased in the Urda train accident. They also spoke with some family members of the victims.
The President of the Government has chosen the Minister of Education, Milagros Tolón, as the appropriate person to accompany the King and Queen on their visit to the injured at the hospital in Toledo. Tolón heads the PSOE list for Toledo and was the mayor of the municipality. Nine months ago, in the Adamuz accident, the president sent then-Minister of Finance María Jesús Montero with the King and Queen. Montero was the chosen candidate for the elections in Andalusia.
Zarzuela has informed that Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have canceled their agenda planned for Friday, when they were due to attend an event at the Royal Spanish Academy. This decision adds to the mobilization they have undertaken since learning of the accident yesterday to stay informed and offer help in their role as heads of state.
Don Felipe was at the Jaime I military base in Bétera, Valencia, when the events occurred. The King was attending the exercise Grifo 2026. After deciding to shorten his presence there, he made statements to the media. There, the Monarch described the incident as a "terrible tragedy" and wanted to convey his "condolences, sadness, support, and affection to the families of the deceased during such a hard and difficult time." In his statements to the media in Bétera, the King also addressed "words of encouragement, support, and recognition to all emergency services attending to the situation."
The King also held telephone conversations with both the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. Upon returning to Madrid, where he landed before two in the afternoon, Don Felipe spent the rest of the day monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Queen and the Royal Household on how to approach and comfort the victims.