A 16-year-old boy who helped rescue victims of the Cordoba train tragedy has been thanked by the King and Queen of Spain.
Julio Rodriguez was filmed meeting King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia on Tuesday during their visit to the disaster zone in Adamuz.
He told the royals that he did ‘all that he could’ to pull people from carriages and get them to safety.
Speaking to RTVE, he said his body took over like it ‘became someone else’s’, and all he could think about was ‘helping in anyway I could.’
The local lad was returning home from a fishing trip with his mother and a friend when they came across the horrific scene on Sunday night.
Julio was one of the first to reach the Renfe Alvia train, which had plunged down a four-metre embankment after colliding with the derailed carriages of an Iryo service.
He heard people screaming for help and trying to escape via doors and windows. He was able to rescue several people and even thought to take down their names and phone numbers of their relatives.
‘I didn’t even stop to think if I was tired or not; I made the journey (up and down the tracks) several times,’ recalled the teenager.
He said he was not scared but ‘did feel terror.’
The royals arrived in Adamuz shortly after 12.30pm on Tuesday on a planned visit to meet with volunteers, emergency workers and investigators.
They were received by Andalucia President Juanma Moreno, national transport minister Oscar Puente and others.
The welcoming committee also included residents of Adamuz who participated in the rescue of passengers.
The King and Queen will travel to the Poniente Civic Centre in Cordoba, where relatives of the deceased are receiving support, and to the Reina Sofía Hospital, where many of the injured are being treated.
