A state tribute for Spain’s train crash victims is postponed as families request a more suitable date, delaying the ceremony for the 45 who died.
MADRID: A state tribute for the 45 victims of Spain’s high-speed train collision has been postponed.
The prime minister’s office said the ceremony was delayed at the families’ request to find a more suitable date.
The planned national tribute was set for January 31 in the southern city of Huelva.
This was the final destination of the train that suffered the most deaths in the January 18 accident.
“After speaking with a large majority of families of the victims of the accident in Adamuz… a large number would find it impossible to attend the state tribute”, the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday.
It added that many families preferred a later date for the ceremony.
The tribute will be postponed to a new date in order to gather the largest possible number of relatives.
The office did not specify when the new ceremony would be held.
The crash outside the village of Adamuz is one of Europe’s deadliest rail disasters this century.
It has plunged Spain into mourning and raised doubts about rail safety.
The disaster occurred when a train run by private firm Iryo derailed.
It crossed onto the adjacent track and smashed into an oncoming Huelva-bound service operated by state company Renfe.
A preliminary report released on Friday suggested the track was cracked before the catastrophe.
