Hundreds turn out to bid final farewell to Ignacio Echeverría

The ceremony was held at the Corpus Christi church in the Las Rozas area of Madrid.

Amongst those present were the president of the Community of Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes; the president of Ciudadanos, Albert Rivera, and the PSOE parliamentary spokesman, Ángel Gabilondo. The minister of the Exterior, Alfonso Dastis, attended in a personal capacity.

The funeral mass was performed by the cardinal and archbishop of Madrid, Carlos Osoro, who highlighted Echeverría's deep faith and the fact that he had risked his own life "to save another".

During the mass, which began around 1pm, the deceased's family were accompanied by around 700 neighbours and friends who came together to celebrate Echeverría's life.

The district's mayor, José de la Uz, praised the family for their exemplary "serenity and calm". "An impeccable family, good, kind, generous people who are so grateful for all the shows of kindness", he added.

In his hour long catholic mass, Archbishop Osoro underlined above all else Echeverría's character, saying that he would "live forever".

Around 3pm, after personally receiving the condolences of many of the people present, the Echeverría family went out into the street to say goodbye to the last of those present.

"Good afternoon. Many thanks for everything; my son would have been very grateful to you for being here", said his father, Joaquín Echeverría to the media after leaving the church.