A regional train derails in Seine-Maritime: 44 injuries recorded

Friday, at the end of the day, a regional train (TER) derailed in Seine-Maritime. A final report shows 44 passengers injured out of the 186 who were on the train. The causes of the accident are still unknown at this stage.

What happened?

The TER provided the connection between the cities of Rouen and Caen. At 7:30 p.m., shortly after leaving Rouen, the train derailed between Tourville-la-Rivière and Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf, near the town of Cléon.

Videos posted on social networks show several trainsets of the train having come off their rails, but still standing, while another has completely come off the railway track and is lying on its side on the side of the track.

An investigation was opened by the Rouen public prosecutor's office and the first investigations were carried out by the judicial police. “Screenings” for alcohol and narcotics on the train driver turned out to be “all negative”, underlined the Rouen prosecutor.

This Saturday morning, the causes of the accident were not known. “The investigation will be long,” warned the deputy prosecutor, Marie-Valérie Albert, during a press briefing followed by AFP on Friday evening.

Many injured

According to a press release from the prefecture, the “Orsec many victims” plan was triggered around 8 p.m. 130 firefighters, 80 vehicles and four SAMU teams were deployed on site to treat the victims.

Of the 186 passengers on board the TER, the latest report shows 44 injured, including 43 in “relative emergency”. The last victim, a young woman of 18 years old, "in absolute emergency" according to the prefecture, was "evacuated by helicopter to the Rouen University Hospital", specifies this same source.

The uninjured people were taken to a room made available by the mayor of Cléon. The municipality “quickly activated its municipal protection plan”, assures the prefecture, allowing “effective treatment of victims who do not require medical treatment”.

Very disrupted train traffic

The accident caused “major disruptions” to rail traffic between Rouen and Caen and between Caen and Le Havre, in both directions, according to SNCF.

“A replacement bus service will be put in place. SNCF agents are on site to determine the circumstances of the incident,” said SNCF Voyageurs.

At Saint-Lazare station in Paris, four trains from Le Havre and Rouen were announced 2h40 to 3 hours late.