French police investigate suspected sabotage after train derailment
A rail fragment found on the track has led investigators to treat a malicious act as the main line of inquiry after 44 people were injured.
French police are investigating suspected sabotage after a passenger train derailed between Rouen and Caen in north-western France on Friday evening.
A police source told AFP, as reported by France 24, that investigators were treating the possibility of a malicious act as the main line of inquiry after finding a fragment of rail on the track. Sabotage has not been confirmed as the cause of the derailment.
The train was carrying 186 passengers when it derailed at about 7.45pm local time. At least 44 people were injured, including an 18-year-old woman who was reported to be in critical condition and taken by helicopter to Rouen University Hospital.
Authorities activated a mass-casualty response involving firefighters, medical teams and emergency vehicles. Tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver were reportedly negative.
SNCF Réseau said rail traffic on the line had been suspended and power to the tracks cut to allow emergency services to operate. Investigators have not disclosed how the rail fragment came to be on the track or whether it directly caused the derailment.
