URDA — Residents and local officials gathered yesterday in a Spanish village near the site of a high-speed train collision that killed at least 69 people for a memorial Mass honouring the victims.

The pews inside the San Juan Bautista church in Urda, in the central province of Toledo, were packed, while dozens more people gathered outside to listen to the service. Some wiped away tears.

Investigators are looking into the cause of one of Europe’s deadliest rail disasters this century, which occurred when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville crashed into a stationary train on Wednesday.

Archbishop of Toledo Francisco Cerro acknowledged that “there are no words that can offer comfort” to those who had lost loved ones.

But he added: “Dear families affected by the train accident, you are not alone. Society is with you, the best of society is with you.”

He urged the public not to forget the tragedy, calling for such disasters never to happen again.

He also paid tribute to emergency service workers and volunteers, praising what he described as “a genuine wave of solidarity”.

The president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano Garcia-Page, and Urda mayor Manuel Galan were among those attending the service.