Boro the dog, missing after Spain train crash, found safe and reunited with owner

A woman who survived a high-speed train derailment in southern Spain has been reunited with her dog, Boro.

After back-to-back fatal train crashes sent shock waves through Spain, Boro’s owner Ana García issued a public plea to help find her dog after he had bolted on Sunday during the aftermath of the train crash.

On Thursday, forest firefighters in southern Spain found the black-and-white pooch and posted images that showed García embracing Boro.

“Many thanks to all of Spain and everyone who has got involved so much,” she said. “It gave me great hope and we’ve done it.”

García, 26, was travelling with her pregnant sister and Boro on the train when the tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, and smashed into another train coming from the opposite direction.

The collision killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. Rescue crews helped García and her sister out of the train car and that’s when she saw Boro before he took off.

“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” García told reporters while holding back tears after the crash. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”

Spaniards on social media rallied to find Boro and major Spanish media outlets reported on the search for the dog.

Partido Animalista Con el Medio Ambiente (PACMA), a Spanish political party that works to defend animals, the environment and people, posted about the search for the missing canine.

“Boro has gone missing after the train accident in Adamuz. He is Ana’s dog, one of the victims, and we urgently need to find him. He will be in the vicinity of the railway accident (Adamuz, Córdoba), very scared and disoriented,” they wrote in a post on X with a video of García’s interview.

By Thursday, PACMA shared an update that Boro had been reunited with García.

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PACMA president Javier Luna expressed his joy after Boro’s rescue in a post on X.

“From the Animalist Party, we are delighted with this happy ending amid the tragedy that occurred last Sunday,” PACMA wrote. “However, Boro’s case demonstrates the need for emergency protocols for our animals in cases of accidents or catastrophes. This situation could have been different and resolved sooner.”

“No amount of thanks to the people involved in Boro’s rescue will ever be enough,” they wrote in another post on X.

In another update, PACMA said it was a “joy” to see that Boro is “happy at home.”

Multiple train crashes this week have rocked Spain, with the tragedies leading to questions about safety on the country’s vast railway system.

The first crash involving a high-speed train in southern Spain that derailed on Sunday evening was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people when a commuter train in the northern region of Galicia hurtled off the rails as it came around a bend going too fast.

On Tuesday night, another train crash happened in northeastern Spain on a commuter line near Barcelona. One person was killed and at least 37 others were injured.

Then, on Thursday, a commuter train crashed in southeastern Spain after it collided with a crane. Emergency services said six people with minor injuries had been transferred to the hospital.

— with files from The Associated Press