Rafael Moreno, mayor of Adamuz (PSOE), is i, about the accident in Adamuz with 46 deaths in the electoral debate this Monday, when he reproached the socialist candidate, María Jesús Montero, for the fact that the central government has not given “a single response” about the train accident. Montero responded that “the whole truth will be known, including what happened in 112.”
The mayor claims to be unaware of the technical causes that caused the derailment, but he did confirm the delay of the ambulances of the emergency service 112, dependent on the Andalusian Junta, and is very critical of the popular candidate, “for missing four votes in the campaign.” This Tuesday the councilor went to the doors of the Andalusian Parliament accompanied by three other mayors from the area to charge against Moreno’s intervention in the debate. He has also censored the electoral use of the accident in the campaign, just six days before the polls.
Ask. What did you think of the Andalusian president’s comment in the debate?
Answer. It was an electoral use of the accident and, knowing the truth and what happened, I couldn’t stay silent for another minute. Until yesterday I have maintained a clean and faithful institutional loyalty so that the investigation continues and the facts are clarified. It is false that the victims asked Moreno to bring up the accident in the debate. I was surprised yesterday by this manipulation in the debate, perhaps it was an escape route when he felt cornered, but he shouldn’t have done it and I didn’t expect it.
P. What did you feel last night after the?
R. The use of the accident in the campaign was always my main fear, but seeing the respect of the parties, I was calm. And when Moreno came out saying that, my body turned inside because I have had very close contact and a close relationship with him, and I didn’t expect it. I never expected it to be him who pulled this out. I didn’t see any more debate, I opened my notepad and started writing so as not to feel complicit in a lie.
Both he and the counselor, all of us who were there, know that the work of the professionals and the coordination was excellent, but from when? Before, it was just the people of the town of Adamuz. What would have happened if the accident had been further away from town? I could not remain silent because I have maintained institutional respect and loyalty, always on the side of the victims, but let the truth be known. In the campaign, with six days left before the votes, I couldn’t keep quiet. He disappointed me because I knew him very closely.
P. The Minister of Health, Antonio Sanz, says that you are lying and that more than 130 emergency health workers arrived.”
R. An ambulance must have arrived every minute. But since when? Neither at 8:00 p.m., nor at 8:30 p.m., nor at 8:45 p.m. I don’t come here to lie, the traffic cameras show that until 8:40 p.m. only nine ambulances passed by, not 40 or 38 passed by. The mayors arrived before the ambulances.
P. What exactly happened since the afternoon of January 18 when you were notified of the accident that occurred at 7:43 p.m.?
R. At 8:08 p.m. 112 called me to explain that there were people wandering on the roads, that there could be deaths, the recordings are there… I asked them to tell me the exact location, and when I was writing down the coordinates, I picked up the location on the fly, I called the head of the Local Police to notify the police of other towns, I also called the head of Civil Protection and the head of the Local Police of Córdoba called me. We picked up an ambulance stopped in Adamuz that didn’t know where to go. Did that ambulance want to be standing there or saving lives?
When we arrived at the scene of the accident, there was a Civil Guard patrol and a small fire truck. We began to get people off the Iryo until we went ahead to look for him. The panorama was terrifying, there was a moment when I collapsed, being in the Alvia and it was 8:32 p.m. There we found that panorama and after jumping onto the car, we took out victims. Returning, we did not want the group to shine their flashlights and cell phones on what was there or to fall down the embankment. I ran into the first civil guard and he notified more media. The paramedics traveling in the Iryo arrived at the Alvia before the emergency services. When I arrived at the meeting point with the group at the train station it was 9:30 p.m., almost two hours after the accident. No one attended to us there and the field hospital had not yet been set up, which was after 10:00 p.m.
P. He assures that there were only eight ambulances until an hour after the accident.
R. The reconstruction of the events carried out by our Local Police with the traffic cameras shows that nine ambulances arrived until 8:40 p.m., including the one from the town itself, eight plus one arrived.
P. How do you feel now, four months later?
R. Physically you recover well, psychologically much better. At first it was much more painful, now you have healed it. The thing is that last night’s situation affected me and I couldn’t keep quiet.
P. Are you aware that the neighbors are still affected by the trauma they experienced?
R. There are people who are still receiving psychological care. If a health professional is not used to a situation of that magnitude, imagine the neighbors. I had seen the dead in the funeral home…
P. Was there anything that could have been done better besides coordinating the ambulances?
R. The best thing would have been if the accident had not happened. Is it possible? We don’t know yet. The professionals’ work was impeccable, but they arrived late. It is not their fault that whoever directs them is overwhelmed or does not know how to give them precise instructions.
P. What do you expect from the ?
R. Let it resolve all doubts, clarify the facts and clarify responsibilities. The pain of the victims will never be comforted, but the truth must be known. I have not participated in the electoral campaign. I only went as a militant to a rally in Córdoba by Pedro Sánchez and María Jesús Montero, and I stayed on the street, I had to see it on a screen.
P. What does it demand from interior Andalusia?
R. The enhancement of public services. I live in a town where the pediatrician comes three times a week and the schools are abandoned and it is the City Council that constantly provides funds so that the children are in fairly good conditions. The connections by public transport are terrible, we have a bus at 6 in the morning, another at 9 and another back to connect with Córdoba capital [a 40 minutos de distancia].
P. Is your town’s health center up and running after Moreno’s order?
R. On February 18 [un mes después del accidente] There was a Government Council and they announced the procedures for the construction of the health center. On April 16, I sent a letter to the president to ask him about the procedures, two months later, since he gave top priority to his advisor and the president of the Provincial Council of Córdoba. Almost a month after that letter, I have not received a response. I can imagine they haven’t done anything. I have always maintained institutional loyalty, but the Popular Party’s attacks are not justified…
