Spanish town rallies to help victims of deadly train crash

URDA: Shocked residents of Urda swung into action as soon as they heard about Wednesday's deadly train crash on the railway line a few kilometres from the normally sleepy Spanish town.

Urda's 78-year-old pharmacist said he was among the first on the scene, jumping into his car to help after his daughter told him about the crash involving two high-speed trains.

Antonio Garcia said the scale of the accident, which has so far left at least 68 people dead, became clear as he approached, with one carriage wedged inside another and scores of bodies.

"Just imagine what was inside," said Garcia, who brought first aid supplies, painkillers and tranquillisers from his pharmacy, as well as blankets to help treat the injured.

Garcia described how one passenger who had lost an arm in the crash was calmly asking for an ambulance, while another was saying his final goodbyes to his family.

"His last words were 'God is good'. For those of us who are believers, these are very beautiful words," said Garcia.

Other locals brought bottles of water for passengers evacuated from the two trains.

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'Devastating'

A few hours later, Urda was bustling with police, firefighters and emergency workers from across the region, and its local sports hall had been converted into a centre for survivors.

The local primary school was reserved for victims' relatives, where a volunteer psychologist from Madrid called Carmen said she had been helping since the morning.

"There were many mothers who found out their children had been killed. That was the worst of today. Telling a mother that her child has died in a train crash is devastating," she said.

Some relatives made the two-hour journey from the Spanish capital, Madrid, to search for family members.

A woman who gave her name as Ana said she had travelled to Urda after receiving a call from environmental police who had found her dog, Trece, which had been on board a train with her husband, Pepe.

Ana fought back tears as she described searching for her husband at the crash site, Urda's sports hall and the primary school, adding that his name was not on any list.