Urda rail disaster: Vox files complaint against minister Óscar Puente
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Expresso das Ilhas
The Spanish party Vox has filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Court against Transport Minister Óscar Puente, accusing him of negligence in the Urda rail disaster. The move, announced the day after the toll reached at least 69 dead and dozens injured, calls, among other things, for the minister to be questioned as a suspect, according to a Vox statement.
The Spanish party Vox filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Court on Thursday against Óscar Puente, Spain’s transport minister, over alleged negligent homicide and injury offences related to the Urda rail disaster. The far-right party accuses him of failing in his duties to direct, control and oversee rail safety, according to a statement cited by Expresso das Ilhas.
The complaint comes a day after a collision between an AVE train and an Iryo train in Urda, in the province of Toledo, which left at least 69 people dead and dozens injured, according to the latest reported toll. Vox is seeking to have the minister questioned as a suspect and for reports and alerts received by his ministry and Adif, Spain’s rail infrastructure manager, to be gathered.
The party is also calling for ministry officials, trade union representatives and members of the Adamuz accident victims’ association to be questioned. It is requesting an independent investigation into failures that could have been prevented, while acknowledging that the cause of the collision has not yet been officially established. Vox also links its complaint to warnings made after the accidents in Adamuz and Gelida, as well as to the agreement signed on 9 February between the ministry and unions to strengthen maintenance, staffing and safety.
The complaint follows the Urda rail collision on 28 October, whose death toll had reached 68, and comes as Egypt has offered its condolences to Spain on 29 October.
