Madrid, Jan 21 (AP) Blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek, Ana Garcia issued a desperate plea: she needed help finding her dog, Boro.
Hours earlier, 26-year-old Garcia and her pregnant sister had been travelling by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to the capital Madrid. The tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, then was smashed into by a train coming in the opposite direction, and that tumbled down an adjacent slope.
At least 42 people died in the crash, and more than 150 were injured, including some right in front of Garcia. Rescue crews helped her and her sister out of the tilted train car.
Garcia saw Boro briefly, then he bolted.
After receiving medical treatment, a limping Garcia told reporters she was going back to find him.
“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” she said, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, whose family, too.”
In the aftermath of one of Spain's worst railway disasters, Spaniards on social media rallied to find Boro and major Spanish media outlets have reported on the search for the missing mutt.
Thousands amplified Garcia's call, sharing video of her interview. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows and a tuft of white fur on his chest, went viral alongside phone numbers for Garcia and her family. The Associated Press was not able to reach anyone through these numbers.
Television broadcaster TVE's filming of the crash site on Monday afternoon brought a jolt of hope: for a few short seconds, a dog resembling Boro could be seen running through a nearby field — an area fenced off while investigators and rescuers continue their search for victims and evidence. But no one managed to locate the elusive pup.
Spain's animal rights political party received permission from the Interior Ministry to send an animal rescue patrol inside the perimeter and will do so on Wednesday, its president, Javier Luna, said in a video posted on X.
“I want to send a message to the family, who are going through a very difficult time (...) I am giving you hope because I am sure we will find him,” Luna said. (AP) SKS
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