Spain has declared three days of national mourning following the deadly train crash in Toledo. But what happens during official mourning periods in Spain, and does it affect work or opening hours for shops?
Two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday near Urda station in Toledo province, south of Madrid.
According to sources from Spain’s 112 emergency services, two carriages derailed and fell down into an embankment after one train rear-ended the other train, which was not moving, at a speed of up to 200km/h.
The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha has kept updating the death toll throughout the day, which has gone from 10 to 32, 64 and currently 68.
In response, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has now declared three days of national mourning (luto in Spanish).
READ ALSO: Spain train collision death toll soars to 68
What does it mean?
Each case differs, as the details of each period of official mourning are set out by decree published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), which formally brings the mourning period into force.
A mourning period was also established following the train crash in Adamuz in January, which killed 46.
Looking at the BOE published October 28th, on the day of the Urda crash, it outlines: “A period of official mourning is declared from 00:00 on 29 October until 24:00 on 31 October 2026, during which the national flag will fly at half-mast on all public buildings and Navy vessels’.
This also applies to diplomatic missions and representations abroad.
The measure may be adopted by the central, regional or local government. In the case of the Urda accident, many regional authorities had already taken the step, such as Cantabria, Madrid and Andalusia.
Since the beginning of Spain’s transition to democracy to the present day, 37 periods of official mourning have been declared in Spain.
Most of them – 20 in total – lasted one day, whilst 17 lasted for three days.
The longest period of national mourning in the democratic era was declared in May 2020, lasting 10 days in memory of the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Do normal working days continue?
As declarations of official mourning are symbolic in nature and intended to show respect and pay tribute, they have no implications for workers and are therefore normal working days. The same applies to shop and supermarket opening hours.
However, official mourning periods may mean that some workers, notably state employees or public figures, that is to say, the government, public authorities and the Royal Family, will certainly have their work scheduled altered to attend events.
Therefore, whilst official mourning is in force, no other institutional events involving any form of celebration may take place, although events paying tribute to the deceased are permitted in Spain.