Survivors of the train accident report "At some point you realize there's nothing more you can do"
After the serious train accident in Adamuz in southern Spain, survivors and relatives are struggling with shock, fear and uncertainty. Eyewitnesses report darkness, screams and desperate attempts to free those trapped.
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- Survivors describe chaos, darkness and cries for help after the Adamuz train crash.
- Relatives are desperately searching for missing persons and waiting for certainty.
- Many of those affected speak of an experience that they will only understand days later.
When the train brakes abruptly, Santiago initially thinks it is a technical fault. Seconds later, the carriage is jerked back and forth. "It felt like an earthquake," says the 44-year-old from Huelva to the newspaper "El Mundo".
When he got out of the car, he saw a lifeless body. "The front of the car was just a pile of metal. People were screaming for help, but we could barely get through."
Bianca Birleanu, 23, also remembers complete darkness. Luggage had fallen off the shelves and parts of the ceiling had come loose. "Someone broke down a door. We only realized how bad it really was when we got outside."
Ramon Monton has also been searching for his wife, who was on the train that crashed, for hours, reports "El Mundo". "I drove for three hours. I called her just before the accident," he says in a shaky voice. He is eventually sent on by the helpers - his wife is not among those being treated there.
Volunteers from the village help in the search for missing persons. "People keep coming with names and photos," says one helper. "We try to reassure them, but many are completely distraught."
"We tried to pull people out"
Several eyewitnesses told "El Pais" that they freed injured people from the carriages themselves before professional help arrived. "They didn't think about it, they just pulled," says a young man who was also on the train. "But at some point you realize that there's nothing more you can do."
Others describe how they had to wait in the carriage for up to 40 minutes. "It was quiet, then there were screams again," says one passenger. "I was looking for my son. It was only when I heard him that I could breathe again."
Paramedics and emergency services, including the Guardia Civil, initially treated the injured on site. Many are cared for in gyms and temporary collection points before being taken to hospitals. For relatives, this is the beginning of an agonizing wait.
"The gift of a second life"
A young couple later said: "We won't understand what has happened until tomorrow. Today we just feel empty." Both are unharmed, but speak of feelings of guilt. "Others were less fortunate."
Many of those affected say they were "given a second life". At the same time, they report images that they can't let go of. "I've seen things that you can't forget," says one survivor.
