A Florida firefighter and his nurse wife survived a deadly high-speed train collision in Spain that claimed at least 69 lives — and then immediately began helping other victims.
Josue Garcia-Otero, his wife, Diamary Garcia, and six other relatives were caught in Wednesday morning’s crash involving two high-speed trains near Urda, close to Toledo in central Spain, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
“We got to safety first, then began treating other patients who were critically injured,” Garcia-Otero said in a statement released by the department.
“My wife is a nurse, and she was helping too.”
Garcia-Otero has served with the department for four years and is assigned to its Critical Care Team, a unit of specially trained paramedics.
“Josue had every reason to focus solely on his own family,” Jacksonville Fire Chief Percy Golden II said.
“Instead, once they were safe, he and his wife went to work. That speaks volumes about the caliber of first responders they are.”
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department previously featured Garcia-Otero in a series marking Hispanic Heritage Month.
“In that feature, he said the month was a time to honor the values passed down by his grandparents, ‘especially caring for others,’” the department said.
“On Wednesday, he and his wife put those principles into action thousands of miles from home.”
Authorities had not immediately determined which of the two trains Garcia-Otero and his family were traveling on when the crash occurred.
Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the accident followed a signal failure that caused several trains to stop.
Puente said a state-run Renfe train was later cleared to continue at normal speed, despite an Iryo-operated train remaining stopped on the tracks ahead.
Rescue crews combed through the mangled rail cars Thursday as they searched for victims in Spain’s second fatal high-speed train crash of the year.
After cranes worked through the night Wednesday, emergency responders were seen removing what appeared to be a body covered by a blanket from one of the trains.
Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll had reached 69 after human remains were discovered during overnight rescue operations.
Authorities said dozens of other people were injured, with 57 still hospitalized as of Thursday.
With Post wires
