A regional passenger train (TER), traveling on the line between Rouen and Cannes, derailed in the department of Saint-Maritime, Normandy, after colliding with an unexpected obstacle on the tracks. The number of injured people according to the latest data is 44 people. The incident triggered an immediate and large-scale response from the French rescue services.
According to information from the French television channel TF1, the special plan for crisis and emergency management ORSEC was immediately activated at the scene of the accident. Over 140 firefighters, numerous medical teams and heavy equipment were involved in the rescue operation. Among the injured, the condition of an 18-year-old girl is the most serious, and she was urgently transported by helicopter to the university hospital in Rouen with a life-threatening condition. The remaining victims suffered minor injuries or were in shock and were being treated at a temporary medical facility set up on site.
Rail traffic in the region remains completely blocked, with national railway company SNCF organising alternative bus transport for passengers. French authorities and prosecutors have already launched an official investigation to establish the exact causes of the train derailment and the nature of the object that caused the collision.