Law enforcement officials suspect sabotage was behind a train derailment in northwestern France that left 44 people injured after an extraneous piece of rail was discovered on the tracks. The regional service, carrying 186 passengers from Rouen to Caen, derailed on Friday evening in Cleon. The incident resulted in one carriage tipping onto its side and four others coming off the rails. Police reported that an 18-year-old woman sustained injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to Rouen University Hospital. A representative for the French national police communications service, SICOP, stated that the rail fragment found at the scene was likely connected to the crash, speaking anonymously per department policy. Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois noted that the exact reasons for the object’s presence remain unclear and require further investigation. Authorities are actively working to determine whether the event was an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage, while the prosecutor’s office has urged caution before drawing final conclusions. Cleon Mayor Melanie Delacour described the survivors as being in a state of shock, explaining that windows on the upright carriages shattered and stones flew inside due to the train’s momentum. Past rail accidents in France include a July 2013 derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge that claimed seven lives, and a November 2015 high-speed TGV test train derailment near Strasbourg that killed 11. Additionally, a recent crash involving two high-speed trains in Adamuz, southern Spain, resulted in 46 deaths and over 100 injuries in January.
Source: cbsnews.com
