A regional train derailed in northwestern France on Friday night, injuring 44 people, after a piece of rail track was found lying on the line, a police source told Agence France-Presse. Investigators are now favoring the scenario of a malicious act.
The TER regional train, which was carrying 186 passengers, derailed in Normandy near the commune of Cleon at around 7:45 p.m. local time (8:45 p.m. Greek time) on Friday. It had been traveling between the cities of Rouen and Caen.
An 18-year-old female passenger was airlifted by helicopter to hospital in what the Rouen prosecutor, Sebastien Gallois, described as a very serious condition. He said the other 43 injured passengers suffered wounds of varying severity, ranging from moderate to serious.
Emergency response at the scene
The derailment triggered a large emergency response, with 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles deployed. An AFP photojournalist at the scene saw numerous ambulances and a police-escorted vehicle carrying passengers wrapped in survival blankets.
Alcohol and drug tests carried out on the train's driver all came back negative, the prosecutor said.
SNCF, France's state-owned national rail operator, which runs the TER regional network, promised what it called absolute transparency in its cooperation with the investigation.
Earlier, lower injury toll
On Friday night, shortly after the crash, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot had initially spoken of about twenty injured among the train's roughly 180 passengers, before the figure rose to 44.
Passengers, described as being in a state of shock, told French media that the train began to shake, as though the driver had applied emergency braking, before carriages started to derail. The accounts were reported by several French outlets, including BFMTV and ici Normandie.
The investigation into the cause of the derailment, and into who may have placed the piece of track on the line, is continuing.
