A regional train carrying 186 passengers from Rouen to Caen derailed on Friday evening near Cléon in the Seine‑Maritime department of northwestern France, injuring 44 people.
Among the injured was an 18‑year‑old woman who was evacuated by helicopter to Rouen University Hospital. Authorities say the main victim is no longer in danger, and other passengers have either been discharged or are awaiting discharge.
Investigators have found a piece of rail on the track and are exploring whether it caused the derailment or was placed there deliberately. A spokesperson for the French national police communications service, SICOP, said the rail was “probably” linked to the incident, while prosecutor Sébastien Gallois noted that the reason for its presence remains unknown. The train’s black box has been seized, several interviews are scheduled, and a court‑appointed expert has been called in.
French rail safety authorities point to past accidents: a 2013 derailment at Brétigny‑sur‑Orge that killed seven, a 2015 TGV test crash near Strasbourg that killed 11, and a January 2024 collision of two high‑speed trains in Adamuz, Spain, which killed 46 and injured more than 100.
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