• The government delegate in Catalonia and the sub-prefect of Céret celebrate the good coordination between Spain and France and between the different bodies that have participated in the simulation
• 65 figurants and 220 police and emergency personnel with 79 vehicles from both countries have participated in the simulation
• Two rescue drones have joined the transnational emergency device for the first time

Girona, March 25, 2025.- Between 23:59h on Monday, March 24 and 03:30h on Tuesday, March 25, the Government Delegation in Catalonia in collaboration with the Préfecture des Pyrénees-Orientales has carried out a simulation on the ground with a scenario in which a train with passengers of the Figueres Perpignan Line (LFP) derailed inside the Pertús tunnel, on the Spanish side, causing several injuries and deaths.

This simulation, which is held annually and whose organization is rotating between both administrations, has counted 65 figurants who have acted as victims of the accident and relatives of the victims, and has counted on personnel, on the Spanish side, of National Police, Civil Guard, Mossos d'Esquadra, Bombers of the Generalitat, and the SEM (Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques) together with the Local Police of the Jonquera, volunteers of Civil Protection of the Jonquera and Red Cross. On the French side, the inter-ministerial service for defence and civil protection, the gendarmerie, the SAMU sanitary units and the Pompiers have participated.

Specifically, the National Police has assigned 9 police officers in the crisis room, the technical table and the animation cell, 3 officers in the advanced command post and about 25 officers between the scientific police and the judicial police. For its part, the Civil Guard has sent 10 personnel of citizen security, judicial police and criminalistics.

In addition, the Mossos d’Esquadra have had 35 agents and 17 vehicles, while the Bombers of the Generalitat have enabled 75 firefighters and 32 vehicles. Civil Protection of the Generalitat has assigned 4 technicians and 3 vehicles. The SEM has contributed about 50 professionals, including nurses, doctors and psychologists, in addition to making 23 vehicles available, between ambulances and health transport.

For its part, the Red Creu has had 5 troops and 2 vehicles, while the Association of Volunteers of Civil Protection of La Jonquera has contributed 4 volunteers and 2 vehicles.

In the police and scientific investigation carried out by the National Police in coordination with the Civil Guard and the Mossos d’Esquadra, the forensic teams of the Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya and the judicial funeral home Mèmora have also participated.

The simulation began this Monday at 23:59h when the derailment of a train with 50 passengers due to a problem in a convoy car was simulated and the driver alerted to the incident, thus activating the Binational Relief Plan (PSB) and the Civil Protection Plan of the Generalitat.

TWO SCENES IN PARALLEL

Due to the fact that to do the simulation the track has been cut and done in the early morning, in a specific time when trains do not circulate, two scenes have been made in parallel to maximize the time.

The first has consisted in the evacuation and transfer of the wounded according to their severity, recovery of the deceased, as well as the attention to the relatives in the multipurpose room enabled in the sports center of La Jonquera (Girona).

The second scenario has consisted of police investigation and forensic action with the collection of ante-mortem and post-mortem samples and the judicial funeral home.

THE RESCUE

At the time of the accident, the driver advised the checkpoint that three carriages on a passenger train had derailed and that several were injured and even some died. Then, Línea Figueres-Perpignan has sent an SOS warning to both administrations, Government Delegation and Prefecture, specifying the type of accident and the exact kilometric point inside the tunnel in which it had occurred, and has immediately requested the activation of the Binational Relief Plan (PSB).

After the activation of the Plan, the Government delegate, Carlos Prieto, acting as Director of Relief Operations (DOS), has taken over the direction of the emergency assisted by the Control of Relief Operations (COS) that has been assumed by the chief operational officer of the Bombers of the Generalitat, Jordi Martín, head of the Emergency Region of Girona.

While the first rescue teams of the Bombers and the Pompiers arrived, three crew members and the engine driver himself have begun to remove 23 passengers from the train who have been able to leave by their own foot to the south mouth of the tunnel. Since this departure, those who had minor bruises in the sanitary tents authorized in situ by the SEM and the SAMU with health professionals and psychologists have been treated.

From the north mouth, a bimodal evacuation vehicle has been used that usually serves to transport material and personnel, to evacuate the wounded of medium gravity since they could not walk alone.

At the exit of each mouth of the Pertús tunnel, the identity of the wounded has been verified and checked with the list of passengers provided by the company LFP.

On the other hand, in the south mouth, a health area with ambulances has been enabled to triage and be able to transfer the most serious passengers to the hospitals of Figueres and Dr. Trueta de Girona.

RESEARCH

At the same time, when the mildest wounded have already been evacuated, the judicial police and the forensic teams of the National Police that have led the investigation, have coordinated with the agents of the Civil Guard and the Mossos have traveled to the place of the incident to start the police investigation.

Specialists have been able to identify 5 corpses in situ, and one more deceased has been counted in a hospital center.

In one area of the La Jonquera sports centre, a morgue has been set up where the bodies have been moved, while in another area, an information and assistance centre has been set up for family members with psychologists who have assisted them on arrival. In this room, 15 figurants who have played the role of family members have been able to process their complaints in order to receive aid, in the case of the deceased, or compensation from the company, in the case of the injured.

After the triage carried out by the firefighters and the SEM, a total of 50 passengers affected have been counted: 27 minor injuries that have been able to move on foot, 7 with injuries of medium severity, 10 with serious injuries and 6 deaths.

Once the forensic work on the removal of bodies and the transfer of human remains by the judicial funeral home has been completed, the PSB has been deactivated.

THE DRONES

One of the novelties that has been introduced in this edition of the simulation in the Pertús tunnel, has been the inclusion of two drones of the Generalitat Bombers that have flown over the area of the accident and have been able to transmit live images of the interior of the tunnel to the advanced command post and the crisis room.

Thanks to the images of these drones, it has been possible to distribute them to the rescue forces and indicate with more precision the exact points where they should act.

TRANSNATIONAL COORDINATION

The government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, has described the simulation as a success and has stressed the importance of doing this type of biannual practices to “be prepared for any catastrophe that may occur”, since “the safety of people is a priority of the Government of Spain”. In addition, it has welcomed the good agreement, collaboration and involvement maintained by the French and Spanish authorities to make this initiative productive and fruitful.

The delegate also thanked “each and every body and force involved in the simulation” and praised the coordination between them as “the cornerstone of the success of the security measure”.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET

The simulation began at 23:59h on Monday, March 24 and lasted until 03:30h on Tuesday when a train from Barcelona to Perpignan with 50 passengers from the company SNCF Voyageurs has derailed inside the tunnel (tube V1) at kilometric point 24,820, branch 38, on the Spanish side of the border.

The railway line has a length of 44.4 kilometers between Figueres and Perpignan, 24.4 of them on French soil and 20, on Spanish soil, 5 kilometers of connecting tracks with the French conventional network, with a cross-border tunnel of 8.3 kilometers, the Pertus Tunnel; 7.4 kilometers on French soil and 0.9 on Spanish soil.

The Binational Relief Plan (PSB) of the Pertús Tunnel establishes that operational exercises must be carried out on the ground, alternating with exercises from a command post to verify the proper functioning of the chain of alert warnings.