France: French TGV train derails, 21 hurt

France: French TGV train derails, 21 hurt

The driver, whose injury was not specified, was evacuated by helicopter following the accident near Ingenheim, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Strasbourg.

AFPUpdated: Friday, March 06, 2020, 03:32 AM IST
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A photo shows a French high-speed TGV train which derailed after an embankment collapsed into the tracks, seriously injuring the driver and hurting 20 others, close to Ingenheim early on March 5, 2020 while travelling from the eastern city of Strasbourg to Paris. | AFP

A French high-speed TGV train travelling from the eastern city of Strasbourg to Paris derailed on Thursday after an embankment collapsed into the tracks, seriously injuring the driver and hurting 20 others.

The driver, whose injury was not specified, was evacuated by helicopter following the accident near Ingenheim, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Strasbourg.

The train was still intact but the locomotive was leaning on its side and four other wagons were also off the tracks, according to the state rail operator SNCF and AFP journalists at the scene.

"Despite going off the tracks, the TGV remained upright," the operator said in a Twitter post that included a picture of what it called "a major landslide." The crew chief on the train also suffered a back injury and one passenger was hurt in the face, the SNCF said. A total of 21 people were injured, according to local authorities.

"The necessary security mechanisms to ensure the safety of the 300 passengers onboard functioned perfectly," it added.

Local authorities for their part put the total number of passengers at 348. Nearly 100 rescue workers and dozens of fire trucks were at the scene of the accident.

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