44 Passengers Injured as Train Derails in France

A passenger train derailment in northwestern France on Friday evening injured 44 people, including an 18-year-old woman who remains in a very serious condition, local authorities said.

The regional train, which was travelling between Rouen and Caen in Normandy, derailed at around 7:45pm local time in the area of Cléon. The accident triggered a major emergency response involving 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles.

A French Press Agency photographer at the scene saw numerous ambulances and a vehicle escorted by police that transported passengers wrapped in emergency blankets.

An 18-year-old female passenger suffered very serious injuries and authorities airlifted her to hospital by helicopter, Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois said. The other 43 passengers suffered injuries ranging from moderate to serious.

The judicial police have launched an investigation into the accident.

Authorities also tested the train driver for alcohol as well as pharmaceutical and narcotic substances. All tests returned negative results, according to the prosecutor.

Cause of derailment remains unclear

Authorities had not established the cause of the railway accident by late Friday night.

“The investigation will take a long time,” deputy prosecutor Marie-Valérie Albert said during a press conference.

France’s national railway operator, SNCF, pledged “absolute transparency” in its cooperation with investigators.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot initially reported around 20 injuries among the train’s approximately 180 passengers on Friday evening.

Passengers described being in a state of shock and said the train began to “shake”, as though the driver had applied emergency brakes, before several carriages derailed, according to reports by French media including BFMTV and ici Normandie.

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