Forty-four people, one of them critically injured, were hurt when a regional train derailed near the town of Cléon in Normandy, northern France, on Friday evening. Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. The incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. local time as the train, carrying 180 passengers, was travelling between Rouen and Caen.
Critically injured passenger airlifted as rescue teams deployed
A French police spokesman said the train derailed after colliding with an “unknown object”. France’s national railway company opened an investigation to determine the precise cause of the accident, focusing on the nature of the object struck by the train and its connection to the derailment.
Local authorities in Seine-Maritime asked residents to avoid the area around the accident to allow rescue and emergency teams to work. Train services between Rouen and Caen, and between Caen and Le Havre, were also suspended, with replacement buses provided for affected passengers. Authorities have reported no deaths so far.
