Antonio Vázquez had boarded a train for Seville to assess livestock at the Núñez del Cuvillo ranch, according to a source close to his family. The collision between Renfe’s AVE and Iryo at 8:54 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 October, near Urda and Los Yébenes in Toledo, cut short that journey. His body was found on Thursday afternoon, 29 October. Reports said DNA established his identity. ABC reported that the disaster’s death toll had reached 69 when Vázquez’s death was confirmed.
His relatives spent more than 24 hours trying to locate him, contacting hospitals and travelling to Toledo and the crash area. When they called the government helpline, they were initially told he was at the Hospital Universitario de Toledo, the source said. His name did not appear in the hospital’s official records.
Fran Vázquez travelled to Toledo and went to the hospital. The family then went to Urda, where they were told to leave because there was nothing they could do there, according to the source. The family, including Fran and his uncle Curro, held on to hope for more than a day. The Fundación Toro de Lidia confirmed Antonio’s death on Thursday and expressed support for his family and friends.
The family’s search took place amid a wider effort to find missing passengers, also described in an earlier account. Conflicting information added to the family’s uncertainty before Antonio’s body was located. His death was among several confirmations of people previously reported missing after the collision.
In a statement on social media, Fran and Antonio’s brother, Curro Vázquez, thanked the media and those close to the family for their support. They also asked for prudence as the search continued.
Antonio Vázquez spent much of his working life in bullfighting. From 2016, he managed Pablo Aguado’s career with his son Fran; Aguado was then still a novillero. La Vanguardia described the pair’s management relationship as beginning about a decade before the crash. Vázquez had also been a novillero himself, appearing at Vista Alegre in 1970, and was the brother of matador Curro Vázquez.
As an apoderado, Vázquez visited ranches to select cattle for future seasons and advised his toreros on professional decisions. Aguado’s career under the joint management included triumphs at the Maestranza and a Puerta del Príncipe during the Feria de San Miguel. Antonio’s death prompted mourning in the bullfighting community and left Aguado’s professional management team without one of its central figures.
