The Spanish government will award approximately EUR 20 million in compensation to victims of the serious train accident that occurred on January 18 in Adamuz, in the south of the country, which left 45 people dead and over 150 injured, according to authorities in Madrid.

The accident, which occurred near Córdoba, involved a high-speed train that derailed and collided with another train, making it the worst rail disaster in Spain since 2013 and one of the worst in Europe in recent years.

According to Transport Minister Óscar Puente, the families of the deceased will receive EUR 216,000 each, to be paid within a maximum of three months. This consists of:

The injured will receive compensation ranging from EUR2,400 to EUR 84,000, depending on the severity of their injuries.

“We know that normal procedures and legal deadlines do not always respond to the urgency of a tragedy of this kind. Economic uncertainty should not add to emotional suffering,” Óscar Puente said, quoted by Reuters.

The accident has put significant political pressure on the transport minister, in the context of several railway incidents that occurred in the same week, including a fatal accident in Catalonia and two other incidents without casualties. The main opposition party has called for the minister’s resignation, according to the Spanish press.

Puente said he has a “clear conscience” and is doing his job “as best he can,” stressing that the government’s commitment to the victims will be demonstrated “through actions, not words.”

The causes of the accident have not yet been determined. The Spanish railway accident investigation body, CIAF, announced that a crack in the rail may have existed prior to the derailment, without ruling out other hypotheses.

The president of the national railway operator Renfe, Álvaro Fernández, said that “human error can be ruled out” at this stage of the investigation.

Spain has the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe, with over 3,900 km of infrastructure, according to the International Union of Railways, and accidents involving casualties are rare.