[UK-Gov] Condolences to Spain - Galician rail disaster

Day 2,074, 06:20 • Published in United Kingdom North Macedonia • by Foreign Office


The world has forever been a dangerous place. In the world of liberty and freedom in the modern age, it's not often that we hear of catastrophes, especially with technology that we use quite so regularly. So it’s with this that I bring sad news, if you haven’t already heard.

Yesterday evening (Wednesday, 24th of July) a train derailed in Galicia, Spain. Media reports so far suggest that over 70 people have passed away with double that injured. The train was believed to be going too fast around a corner and derailed. It is commonly being called one of Spain's worst rail disasters ever, with the number of dead being expected to rise. An article on it by the BBC can be read here.



Galicia is Spain’s most north westerly region, having a unique culture within the Iberian peninsula. The crash site was not too far away from one of Spain’s most religious sites - the remains of Saint James the Great, who is the patron saint of Galicia and whose remains are believed to lay in the city of Santiage de Compostela.

As an act of respect and good faith, we would like to offer our condolences to the Spanish people, especially those affected by the derailment. Throughout our history - the UK - we have had our fair share of rail accidents. Our over reliance on our rail transport makes any disaster significant but few have been to this scale and this devastation.

Condolences from
The government and people of the United Kingdom