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Eight injured as French express train crashes into fallen tree
Passengers on an express train in France were seriously injured as the train hit a tree that had broken off during a severe hailstorm between Nimes and Montpellier
The train did not derail and service was expected to continue yesterday
Eight people were seriously injured in southern France when an express train crashed into a fallen tree uprooted by a massive hailstorm, rescue workers said.
The regional express train was carrying 219 passengers on a service between Nimes and Montpellier when it hit the tree at 140 kilometres per hour, the state rail operator SNCF said.
The accident occurred near the town of Lunel, about 28km south-west of Nimes.
According to the head of local rescue services, Christophe Risdorfer, one critically-injured individual was airlifted to hospital, and 50 other passengers suffered minor injuries or shock.
SNCF said around 80 rescue workers, backed by helicopters, were deployed to the scene, where “access is very difficult”, the Guardian reports. The company explained that the tree was a very tall pine located on private property next to the railway line.
Despite the impact, the train did not derail and traffic was reportedly expected to resume later Wednesday on one of the line’s tracks.
