La energía entra gradualmente mientras se salva a cientos de personas atrapadas en trenes
The president of the government of Aragon, Jorge Azón, stated that energy is gradually entering the region, starting from the northern community and already reaching the province of Teruel, while emergency services are working to rescue «hundreds of people» who have been trapped in different trains throughout the territory.
Azón made these remarks to the media after the meeting of the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (CECOPI), where he urged the population to exercise «extreme caution» and emphasized that the main concern is the people trapped in the trains who are unable to contact Renfe or Adif.
He stressed that the priority is the hospitals, which have been fully restored in terms of energy supply, except for those in Calatayud, Teruel, and Alcañiz, which are running on generators.
The regional president mentioned that the emergency number 112 is still receiving calls related to power outages, medical issues, or people stuck in elevators, underscoring that «safety comes first.» He emphasized the importance of staying calm and minimizing mobility, using emergency phones only in cases of extreme need, and urging people to stay at home.
Regarding rail transportation, he noted that the high-speed train (AVE) is facing «many issues» with no response from Renfe or Adif, prompting the Aragon government to do «everything possible» to send buses to the locations where trains are blocked.
Despite the challenges, efforts are being made to locate the trains with the help of helicopters from the 112 emergency response team. Trains are stranded in four different locations: Calatayud, with a thousand people at the station, the town of Luceni in Zaragoza, and two other sites. However, there is difficulty in securing buses to evacuate passengers due to a lack of responsiveness to their calls.
Additionally, Azón mentioned having a conversation with the Third Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Agesen, who urged him not to speculate on the causes of the outage as the government is still investigating the incident.
He assured that the situation in the region is more operational compared to others, thanks to the cooperation of France, but emphasized that it will take hours to fully resolve the situation. He did not rule out the activation of level 3 alarm if necessary.
Regarding the restoration of power, Azón mentioned that the duration is uncertain as neither Endea nor Red Eléctrica can provide a specific timeline for full restoration. He suggested that progress might be faster during the night due to lower electricity consumption.
In terms of citizen safety, he confirmed that law enforcement agencies report normalcy with no incidents detected in both Huesca province and Zaragoza city. He highlighted the importance of public lighting functioning as usual to aid in maintaining order.
Looking ahead, he mentioned that the first point of discussion at the 8:00 PM CECOPI meeting will be whether schools in Aragon should remain open. Depending on the availability of electricity, a decision will be made on whether students can return to school or have to stay at home based on reports from Endea and Red Eléctrica.
FUENTE
