Spanish athlete confirmed as victim of Wednesday train crash

Spanish athletics was in mourning on Thursday following confirmation that 24-year-old long jumper Julieta Gallego was among the victims of Wednesday's train crash, which has claimed at least 69 lives and left dozens injured after one train rammed into the back of another approximately 120 kilometers south of Madrid, reported Xinhua.

Gallego lived in Germany but was visiting Spain. She competed as a long jumper for Madrid-based AD Sprint and held a personal best of 5.90m, achieved at the 2023 Spain Under-23 Indoor Championships.

Raul Chapado, president of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA), expressed his deepest sympathy, saying, "There are blows that hurt to the very core of the athletics family."

"Today, sport mourns the passing of Julieta-a life ahead that has been unjustly extinguished. Spanish athletics embraces Julieta's soul and the immense pain of her family, her friends, and her lifelong club. They are not alone in this void," he commented.

The RFEA also posted a message on social media expressing its profound grief over Gallego's death, stating that it "wishes to transmit our regret and support to her family, loved ones, and companions at her club."

Meanwhile, Spain's independent transport accident investigation authority AITAT on Thursday revised the death toll of Wednesday's high-speed train collision in Toledo province to 69, shortly after reporting 74 fatalities.

The authority initially published the preliminary figure of 74 deaths at around 5:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on the Spanish Ministry of Transport's website. However, it later corrected the figure to 69, matching the number announced earlier Thursday by Emiliano Garcia-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government.

The figure of 74 was reported by several Spanish media before being revised. According to Spanish national broadcaster RTVE, which cited sources from the Ministry of Transport, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha is the official source of the accident's death toll.