Train derailment in France: arson suspected (police source)

The theory of a malicious act is being favored in the investigation into the derailment of a train Friday evening in northwestern France in which 44 people were injured, a piece of rail having been found on the track, AFP learned Saturday from a police source.

According to Hervé Morin, president of the Normandy region, "the most likely hypothesis today is an act that is not simply a malicious act but an act that can be described as criminal. The engine overturned, meaning that the part that was going towards Caen ended up towards Rouen, so the impact was violent."

The piece of rail, "estimated at between 250 and 300 kilos", did not "just happen to be on the track, given that a train passed an hour before and that there was no work in the meantime", he told AFP, while specifying that on this section the maximum speed was 120 km/h.

The derailment of the regional train (TER) carrying 186 passengers took place in Normandy, near the town of Cléon, on Friday around 7:45 PM.

A total of 44 people were injured, including a young woman who was initially in critical condition but is now out of danger. A significant emergency response was deployed, including 130 firefighters, five medical teams, and 80 vehicles.

Tests for alcohol and drugs on the train driver all came back negative, said Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois.

Passengers present at the scene testified to the violence of the accident.

"Suddenly there were a few jolts, then after three seconds it got stronger and stronger," one of the passengers, 24-year-old Louis, told ICI Normandie radio. "I couldn't stay in my seat anymore (...) The windows partially shattered, and gravel from the track went into the carriage," he said. "It was really shocking, I'm still shaking."

Traffic, which had been interrupted in the immediate term quite widely around the area of the accident, has been restored, a spokesperson for SNCF (French Railways) Réseau indicated on Saturday.

AFP