The story of Natividad de la Torre is one of the most tragic to have emerged from the Cordoba train disaster.
The Huelva native was travelling with her son and three young grandchildren in the first carriage of the doomed Renfe Alvia train when the deadly collision occurred in Adamuz on Sunday night.
They were all returning from a trip to Madrid – including a stop at the Lion King musical – which she had treated them to after selling a plot of land and earning some extra money.
However, on their way home, Natividad and her family were unknowingly sitting right next to the point of impact.
At around 7.39pm on January 18, their carriage collided with the derailed cars of an Iryo train travelling in the opposite direction.
While Natividad is assumed dead, incredibly, her son Luis Carlos and her grandchildren Fidel, 12, Carlota, 10, and Guillermo, 9, all survived.
Speaking to Huelva Informatica, Natividad’s other son, Fidel Saenz de la Torre, said his brother Luis (the children’s uncle) was trapped in the wreckage for over 90 minutes.
Despite being trapped, he found the strength to pull the children out and push them toward the window, while other people gathered them from outside.
‘Four heroes carried him on a stretcher for a mile,’ he said.
On his mother, he added: ‘She left this world enjoying her grandchildren… I am grateful to God for having my children. It’s a miracle.’
