The European Public Prosecutor's Office will also investigate the tragic train accident in Adamuz, Córdoba. in which 46 people died on January 18thSpecifically, the European Union Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into possible fraud involving European funds in the maintenance of the high-speed rail line connecting Madrid and Seville, the section where the accident occurred. "This exceptional confirmation comes after significant public interest. No further details will be made public at this stage," stated the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Madrid. This EU body is responsible for investigating crimes that may affect the EU's financial interests. In this case, according to EFE, the investigation seeks to determine whether there was embezzlement and misappropriation of European aid in the use of European funds. SER reports that the investigation is looking into whether there was misappropriation in the management of the more than €100 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocated to these works. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has confirmed that the European Public Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the accident since it occurred. In his opinion, the agency intervenes in "all cases involving European funds." "For whatever reason, it's being presented today as a major development, but it isn't," he stated in a social media post. On January 30, European prosecutors Luis Miguel Jiménez Crespo and Juan José Navas Blánquez requested from the Ministry of Transport "all signed contracts and the corresponding file numbers related to the section of the railway network where the accident occurred." Meanwhile, the investigation into the causes of the accident is being conducted by an investigating court in Andalusia.

The political truce that prevailed during the first hours of the Adamuz and Gelida tragedy is now history. As the days have passed, the PP's discourse has become increasingly... in crescendo When it comes to demanding accountability for the accidents, which have been compounded by the railway chaos in Catalonia and the AVE high-speed train speed restrictions, the PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, directly blamed Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for the accidents on Wednesday and predicted that his government "will be in the dock" for the train tragedy. "They played Russian roulette with our safety; this was an avoidable accident, not an unforeseeable catastrophe," the PP leader declared. He said this after Sánchez appeared before Congress to explain his government's handling of the accidents, in which he defended the Andalusian case, stating that all maintenance controls were "scrupulously" followed, although he acknowledged that protocols "are not infallible" and that quality standards are not always met.

Four days after the train accident that killed 45 people in Adamuz, Isabel Díaz Ayuso asked the Archdiocese of Madrid to organize a mass at the Almudena Cathedral—which also hosted the mass for the victims of the DANA storm in the Valencian Community—in memory of the victims. And the preparations, surrounded by her supporters, were perfectly tailored for her. At eleven minutes to seven in the evening, the President of the Community of Madrid arrived walking through the Plaza del Armería, accompanied by the President of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, and the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida. She was in the center. Although, according to protocol, the preeminence should have been given to the President of the Senate, the fourth highest authority in the State. After ascending the stairs, just below the main entrance, a man approached Ayuso, shook her hand, and asked for a photo. First one selfieBut it ends up being a woman from the Madrid president's team who does it. She bids farewell to the sudden, uninvited guest with a half-smile, shy because of the circumstances, but easily recognizable, and with a wink.

The National Police have arrested a man as the suspected perpetrator of the violent death of his daughter in Córdoba, according to EFE. The events occurred on Sunday night at a home they shared in the Ciutat Jardí area, near the historic center of this Andalusian city and very close to the Civil Guard station. After the alleged murder of his 30-year-old daughter, the man attempted suicide. At the time of his arrest, the father had self-inflicted stab wounds to his abdomen and was taken to the Reina Sofía Hospital in Córdoba, where he is currently hospitalized under police custody. Although the investigation is in its initial stages, early hypotheses suggest that this is not a case of vicarious violence. This type of violence is perpetrated by the father against his children with the aim of harming the mother. These initial reports also rule out the possibility that this is a case of gender-based violence. However, the man is included in the Viogén system, which aims to protect victims of gender-based violence from their abusers.

Catalonia is experiencing an unprecedented situation this week. The commuter rail service, crucial for ensuring mobility throughout the country, was suspended for two days following an accident that resulted in the death of a train driver. Due to the same accident, the AP-7, the highway that crosses the country from south to north and is the main route for freight exports, remained closed for more than 24 hours southbound. This mobility chaos has exposed the weaknesses of public transport infrastructure that is nearing collapse due to a number of factors, including a long-standing lack of investment and the effects of climate change.

"Now is not the time for controversy." These words, spoken this Thursday by the PP spokesperson in the Andalusian Parliament, Toni Marín, exemplify the communication strategy employed by Juanma Moreno Bonilla's government regarding the Adamuz tragedy. All levels of government, including the Spanish government, "have risen to the occasion," Marín emphasized during his turn to speak, expressing his gratitude for the suspension of the plenary session initially scheduled for yesterday. Hours later, the Andalusian president himself chose not to engage with Isabel Díaz Ayuso's criticism of Pedro Sánchez's administration: "We recovered two bodies three hours ago. I'm not one for controversy; there will be time for an investigation later." The Andalusian PP's strategy serves to clearly differentiate itself from the national PP and, above all, from the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has stated that a "code of silence" has been imposed following the accident to cover up the Zapatero issue and has even suggested that the Andalusian and Spanish governments agreed to arrange the victims' funerals in Madrid.

A man and a woman sit in the Roche café, on the corner of two residential streets in Córdoba. He drinks a coffee and she drinks a glass of milk, finishing off the crumbs of two pastries they've already eaten. They barely speak. Both stare out at the street through a large window. Outside, it's dark, and hardly any cars pass by. Their gazes are completely lost. Her name is Blanca, and his is José, and they recently learned that a relative died in the collision between two high-speed trains in Adamuz, in the province of Córdoba.

New developments have emerged in the investigation into Sunday night's fatal collision between two high-speed trains in Adamuz, Córdoba, which has now claimed at least 43 lives, 42 of whom have been identified. The latest victim was found Wednesday inside one of the wrecked trains, which emergency services were inspecting. The investigation is focusing on the condition of the railway tracks and the point of contact with the bogies. On Wednesday, Transport Minister Óscar Puente explained that marks have been found on the structure beneath the train's body, comprised of axles and wheels, which fits into the root of the first five cars. At a press conference, the minister acknowledged that it is "an undeniable possibility" that the marks are due to a track defect, although he did not want to focus solely on this element as the open line of investigation. In fact, Puente continues to consider all possibilities, except for human error.

The People's Party (PP) is beginning to move beyond the political calm that had prevailed since the Adamuz train accident and is abandoning the previous silence on the issue. Last night, the PP held a press conference at party headquarters to assess the situation and began to raise its voice against the Spanish government. "Prudence and a broad perspective are compatible with the concern and the need for answers from an overwhelmed government," explained Juan Bravo. The party's deputy secretary for infrastructure took the opportunity to criticize the "lack of transparency," the "improvised decisions," and the "lack of foresight" of the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's office), and to denounce that the Spanish government "has exacerbated the public's sense of vulnerability, insecurity, and distrust." Later, the PP's secretary general, Miguel Tellado, accused Pedro Sánchez of being "missing" since Monday: "This isn't politicizing, it's a fact." Far from the growing political squabble, the good relationship between the Andalusian and Spanish governments continues: this afternoon, the two presidents, Juanma Moreno and Pedro Sánchez, agreed that the state tribute The victims will be honored on Saturday, January 31st in Huelva.

“I was at home when I heard about the train derailment,” Ana explains. It was already night, and this resident of Adamuz (Córdoba) was already in her pajamas, but she and her partner, Francisco, didn't hesitate: they got in the car and drove as close as possible to the tracks where the train tragedy had just occurred. “There were a lot of people screaming, a woman about to die, more people getting out of the carriages, covered in blood, some unconscious…” she recalls. Even now, she doesn't understand how she was able to stay and help the injured. “Normally, I faint at the sight of a drop of blood,” she admits.

Today we still have a "Extremely strange" train accident and a "very rare" disease.

"It's a strange accident," said Transport Minister Óscar Puente on Sunday night about the train tragedy in Córdoba, one of the worst in Spanish history, which has claimed, so far, the lives of 40 peopleNow, in clarifying the causes and shedding some light on what happened in Adamuz, the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF) will play a key role. This Monday, the CIAF opened its investigation into the catastrophe and, in fact, traveled to the site of the accident on Sunday night. The CIAF is an independent body created in December 2007 and attached to the Ministry of Transport. Its main function is to carry out the "technical investigation" of serious railway accidents that occur on the railway network considered to be of general interest—that is, the network under state control—although it can also participate in the investigation of other railway accidents and incidents if deemed appropriate.

When he recalls the scene and tries to describe it, only isolated words emerge. "Death." "Destruction." "Hands." Each word conjures an image from a dramatic night. He remembers a woman weeping, saying she didn't know where her husband was. The image of a pile of twisted metal flashes before his eyes, with hands emerging from it. Some moving, others still. Gonzalo Sánchez is 46 years old and from Adamuz, a small town in Córdoba with just over 4,000 inhabitants. Four kilometers from the town, amidst olive groves and forests, Two high-speed trains collided Sunday at 7:45 p.m.

The rescue and emergency teams working in Adamuz (Cordoba) in the serious train accident On Sunday, fatalities were found "hundreds of meters" from the point where the trains collided. This was explained on Monday morning by the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who added that, in all likelihood, more bodies will be found as the extrication work progresses in the currently inaccessible carriages. At this point, there are still "tons of iron" that must be moved and "broken down" to allow access for heavy machinery, and subsequently, a complex task will begin: the recovery and identification of the bodies. These efforts are the focus of work on the ground now that the first group of injured, 117 adults and five children, has been attended to, 41 of whom are hospitalized (four of them minors). In tragedies like the one in Adamuz—with at least forty missing and forty dead—emergency teams initially work against the clock, in a situation where the "disproportion" between the number of people affected and the impact is evident, explains Juanjo Verge, deputy head of the Medical Emergency System (SEM) in Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre, who is also responsible for managing mass casualty incidents. When asked about the greatest difficulty in such a catastrophe, he replies: "The initial moment is very complex; there's a chaotic situation where everyone is calling for help. Naturally, you're overwhelmed, and you have to keep a cool head." Following protocols shared with other emergency services, one of the first things SEM teams do upon arrival is deploy medical infrastructure to treat the victims while firefighters begin rescue operations.

"I still haven't heard anything. I've asked all the hospitals and nothing; we've called all the phone numbers and nothing." This is just one of the desperate messages circulating on social media, where relatives of passengers from the trains involved in accidents in Córdoba They are publishing photos because, at this point, they don't know where the passengers are or if they have been injured.

Visiting Córdoba is more accessible than ever since September 18th, thanks to the new Vueling route operating between Barcelona and the Andalusian city with a direct connection and two weekly flights to enjoy its unique corners. Córdoba has managed to preserve its historical essence while continuing to thrive, becoming a vibrant and cosmopolitan destination with many opportunities for all types of travelers. With a mild climate in winter and warm in summer, the city encompasses historical heritage, traditions, culture, and gastronomy for both weekend getaways and longer trips at any time of year.

Two fires, one at the mosque in Córdoba (Andalusia) on Friday night and another on Sunday at the Las Médulas site (Castile and León), where the remains of a gold mine from the 1st and 3rd centuries are located, have put experts and heritage lovers on alert. These are two of the fifty sites in Spain registered in the UNESCO World Heritage ListBut that hasn't made them immune to the flames.

The fire that broke out Friday night inside the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba has been extinguished, according to the cathedral chapter. This Friday morning, the dean of the cathedral, Joaquín Alberto Nieva, assessed the damage to the building, one of the jewels of world Islamic art and considered a World Heritage Site. The damage to the building, he said, is "very small": of the 23,000 square meters of the Mosque-Cathedral, the effects of the fire are limited to about 25 square meters. However, the flames caused the wooden vaults of the Chapel of the Annunciation to collapse and affected two others. However, this did not prevent the Mosque-Cathedral from reopening its doors this Saturday.