Europe12 September, 20262 min read
TER Train Derails Between Rouen And Caen In Seine-Maritime, 44 Injured
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Forty-four injured, including an 18-year-old in critical condition, after TER derailed near Cléon. Investigation focusing on sabotage after a rail fragment was found on the track.
Derailment near Cléon
A TER train carrying 186 passengers derailed between Rouen and Caen in Seine-Maritime on Friday, derailing around 7:45 PM near the commune of Cléon, according to Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot and the prefecture. Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois said screenings of the train’s driver turned out to be “all negative,” and the Rouen judicial police were seized of an investigation into “search for the causes of serious injuries.”
Local authorities said 44 people were injured, including an 18-year-old woman evacuated in “critical condition,” and the prefect activated the Orsec plan for many victims (NOVI) while recommending people avoid the area. Emergency response mobilized 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles, and SNCF Réseau said traffic on the line was interrupted and power to the tracks was cut to allow responders to operate.
Sabotage suspicion and witness
Investigators suspected sabotage after a police source told AFP that “a fragment of rail was found on the track,” and the possibility of a malicious act was treated as the main line of inquiry. The BBC reported that the cause of the derailment was not immediately known, while also describing how an 18-year-old woman was airlifted in critical condition by helicopter to hospital.
Passenger Louis, 24, told ICI Normandie radio that “Suddenly there were a few jolts, and then after about three seconds it got stronger and stronger,” and he said “The windows partially shattered, the stones from the track came into the carriage.” SNCF Réseau said the priority was to care for passengers and then restore safe operating conditions, and it reported traffic on the line had been suspended with power cut to allow emergency services to operate.
Disruptions and next steps
SNCF Réseau said the accident caused “major disruptions” to rail traffic between Rouen and Caen and between Caen and Le Havre in both directions, and SNCF Voyageurs set up a replacement bus service on the Rouen–Caen line. The BBC said replacement buses would be provided and that authorities advised the public to avoid the area, while the prefecture said the unharmed people were taken to a room made available by the mayor of Cléon.
Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois said tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver had come back negative, and the Rouen judicial police were tasked with investigating the “search for the causes of serious injuries.” In the midst of the ongoing inquiry, SNCF said it would offer “full cooperation in complete transparency” to the investigation, and SNCF Réseau said services had been resumed while the train would only be lifted off the line once the public prosecutor allows it.