A British woman is confirmed to have died in a devastating Spanish train crash that killed at least 69 people on board.
‘Talented and passionate’ University of Cambridge researcher Dr Marta Shahbazi was on board the train that collided with another near the town of Urda in central Spain last Wednesday.
Oscar Puente, Spain’s transport minister, has since described an order that caused the accident as ‘inexplicable’.
Surviving passengers described the scenes as ‘apocalyptic’ with at least 69 people dead.
The train crash resulted in the deaths of at least 69 people (X)
The two high-speed trains were carrying hundreds of passengers, travelling from Madrid to Seville, when they collided in the province of Toledo.
Puente said that at 8:30am on Wednesday, the security system on a stretch of 39 miles stopped working due to a computer malfunction.
A mother to two young children, Dr Shahbazi carried out research into the early stages of human embryo development, according to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency, which the LMB is a part of.
Dr Shahbazi ‘wrote eloquently about balancing her family and career’, the UKRI said, ‘serving as a much-admired role model for a ‘mother scientist’, a term she used to describe herself’.
Based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, she had been due to receive the scientific excellence prize from the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology at a conference which began on the day of the crash.
Dr Marta Shahbazi was remembered in tributes (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)
The LMB has since paid tribute to the ‘inspiring’ scientist, an affiliate associate professor at the University of Cambridge.
Dr Shahbazi is listed on the university’s website as a principal investigator at its Stem Cell Institute.
Photos showed the devastation (Javier SORIANO / AFP via Getty Images)
In a heartbreaking statement, the laboratory said: “The LMB is deeply saddened by the tragic death of our colleague Marta Shahbazi, group leader in the Cell Biology Division.
“Marta was on a train that collided with another near Urda, Spain, on Wednesday October 28, as she was travelling to receive the scientific excellence prize from the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology.
“Marta was an inspiring, talented and passionate scientist. Her death is a profound shock and a huge loss. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues at this extremely difficult time.
“The LMB is offering support to members of its community as they navigate this tragic loss.”
Meanwhile, the Director of the University of Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI), Prof Bertie Gottgens, said its community is ‘shocked and deeply saddened’ by Dr Shahbazi’s death.
He added: “She was highly respected for her pioneering research on early human development and valued for her collaborative spirit. Her creativity, passion, and generosity will be greatly missed.”
At least 69 people are thought to have lost their lives in the disaster, which was the country’s second high-speed rail crash this year.
Both collisions occurred on the same line between the central city of Madrid, Spain’s capital, and Seville, in the Andalucia region in the south of the country.
Dozens of other people are injured (Javier SORIANO / AFP via Getty Images)
Three days of national mourning were observed from Thursday, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez describing the incident as a ‘tragedy’ and promising an investigation.
The high-speed rail network had been considered one of Spain’s crowning achievements.
It is the world’s second-largest, after China’s, and until this year, it had not experienced a deadly crash since coming into service more than three decades ago.
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