Spain's king and queen attend memorial service for rail crash victims

ByGuy Hedgecoe Reporting fromReporting from Madrid.

Key points

• Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia were among those who have attended a memorial service in tribute to the 69 victims of last month's deadly train crash.
• It was the worst rail tragedy in Spain since 2013.
• "The tragic accident in Urda has left our families, our towns and our society with a pain that is difficult to accept, " Archbishop Cerro Chaves informed those present.
• Cuerpo took on the transport portfolio after the resignation last week of Óscar Puente from the post.
• As well as residents of Urda, were present for the memorial service, some local individuals from the town of Adamuz in Andalusia, where that accident happened.

For context, the accident occurred when one train, travelling at high speed, ploughed into the back of another that was stationary on the Madrid-Seville line, near the small town of Urda, regarding 40 miles from Toledo.

It was the worst rail tragedy in Spain since 2013. Twenty-eight individuals remain in hospital.

Representatives of those killed carried lit candles to the front of the cathedral and placed them next to the main altar. The first reading of the service was by Ana Benítez, sister of David Benítez, a 38-year-old father-of-two who died.

After Catholic Mass, they spoke to relatives of the victims, the king and queen were met with applause by bystanders as they entered the cathedral and at the end of the service.

Senior politicians additionally attended the service, including the leader of the opposition People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, and Transport and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo.

Puente had come under mounting pressure after the crash, Spain's second major rail tragedy this year after 46 residents died in a collision on the same high-speed line in January.

Notably, the investigation into the recent accident is still in progress. Puente suggested that human error combined with a glitch in the safety system may have been the cause.

In practice, the tragedy happened a month before the 29 November general election and is seen as probable to hurt Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's attempts to secure re-election.

For context, the ceremony took place on the same day as a nationwide strike by train drivers. This person are demanding greater safety on the rail network.

Rail services were additionally anticipated to be affected nationwide on Wednesday due to a general strike, led by housing activists calling for urgent measures to control rental costs.

In short, spain' s king and queen attend memorial service for rail crash victims is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.