FRANCE: Emergency services have continued to clear the site of the train crash which killed five people in France
Record ID:
382154
FRANCE: Emergency services have continued to clear the site of the train crash which killed five people in France
- Title: FRANCE: Emergency services have continued to clear the site of the train crash which killed five people in France
- Date: 13th October 2006
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (German) HENRI GLEFENER, COMMANDER OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN LUXEMBOURG, SAYING: "Five dead people were pulled out in total, the last one we pulled out this morning. The last person was so stuck that we started yesterday afternoon at five in the afternoon and worked through the whole night so that we pulled out the last person at nine o'clock in the morning."
- Embargoed: 28th October 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA4F44YFINFCHLPAJZJBT25V31Q
- Story Text: Emergency services continued to clear the train crash site of a double-decker passenger train on Thursday (October 12) which collided head-on with a goods train in northeastern France, killing at least five people.
Rail officials said the trains were travelling on the same stretch of track because of maintenance work on an adjoining line, and slammed into each other in a wooded area near the Luxembourg border.
The force of the collision sent some freight trucks climbing up above the passenger train, hurling carriages out over the trackside in a giant 'V' and pushing other freight wagons down the opposite embankment.
Initial reports indicated as many as 13 people had died in the crash, but officials said the actual number of dead appeared to be lower, adding that fewer people were travelling on the train than first believed.
"Five dead people were pulled out in total, the last one we pulled out this morning. The last person was so stuck that we started yesterday afternoon at five in the afternoon and worked through the whole night so that we pulled out the last person at nine o'clock in the morning," said Henri Glefener, commander of a Fire Department from Luxembourg.
Officials said at least two people were in a serious condition in hospital.
The passenger train consisted of just three carriages and was heading from Luxembourg to the French city of Nancy.
Seconds after crossing into France, at around 11.45 a.m. (0945 GMT), it slammed into the goods train, which had 22 wagons and was making its way to Luxembourg.
France is proud of its rail network and Wednesday's crash appeared to be the worst train disaster in France since at least November 2002, when fire swept through a sleeper car on a Paris-Vienna express train, killing 12 people.
The SNCF and French judicial authorities have opened separate crash investigations. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None