Authorities identify 66 of the 69 of the Urda rail collision victims, government to approve financial aid for those affected by the crash, Madrid encampment to disperse into the neighbourhoods, and more news from Spain this Monday November 2nd.
Authorities identify 66 of the 69 of the Urda rail collision victims
The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Toledo and Ciudad Real has identified 66 of the 69 people who died in the train accident that occurred last Wednesday in the municipality of Urda in Toledo. Among the identified victims are 54 Spanish nationals, as well four US citizens and one from Canada, according to the report provided by the Integrated Data Centre (CID).
Forensic teams are now working with international police to try and identify the remaining three victims, which are believed to be foreigners. Three reports for missing people remain active for two Australians and one Japanese citizen.
“As the families have expressed their wish to travel to Spain to carry out in-person identification, we are awaiting their arrival in the country,” the statement said.
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Spanish government to approve financial aid for those affected by Urda train crash
The government is expected to pass a royal decree this Tuesday November 3rd, to approve financial aid for those affected by the recent train crash, which killed 69 and left 41 hospitalised, 16 of them in intensive care.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente is due to announce all the details following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Shortly after the Amaduz train accident in January, the cabinet announced financial aid of just over €21,000 for the families of each of the deceased.
Puerto del Sol encampment in Madrid to disperse into the neighbourhoods
The committees that organised the encampment in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol in defence of the right to housing have announced a gradual dissolution and have asked their members to move into the neighbourhoods to prepare for the general strike on November 11th.
This decision comes after the Government Delegation sent an email to the legal advisory committee of the encampment to inform them that “it might be legitimate to end it”.
The encampment, calling itself 26S has confirmed that this means “a new stage is beginning”, making it clear that “none of these decisions were ordered by a governing body, but rather responded to a shared perception of things”.
“This does not mean that everything we have built will end. The support networks, the bonds, and the forms of organisation that have emerged during these days will continue to take different forms, responding to the needs that remain,” they stated.
Spain Supreme Court sentences woman for collecting her dead grandmother’s pension
The Supreme Court has overturned the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Asturias and has sentenced a woman to two years in prison for social security fraud.
The woman collected her deceased grandmother’s pension for six years. The court has ordered her to repay nearly €30,000 to the public treasury and has also imposed a three-year ban on her receiving subsidies or receiving any social security benefits.
The ruling also criticised the “lack of oversight” by the National Social Security Institute and the bank for failing to detect that the pension was still being paid, even though the grandmother had died.
It concluded that “this constitutes an improper payment, as it was made to a pensioner who had already died, and the duty to report this was not fulfilled. Furthermore, the bank and the paying entity themselves failed to comply with their oversight duties, which would constitute fraud”.
