French officials have launched an investigation into a possible act of sabotage after a regional train derailed in Normandy on Friday evening, leaving 44 people injured. The incident occurred in Cléon, located in the Seine-Maritime department of northwestern France, according to police reports shared with The Associated Press on Saturday.
The service was transporting 186 passengers from Rouen to Caen at the time of the crash. Emergency responders evacuated an 18-year-old female passenger by helicopter to Rouen University Hospital, while other injuries were reported among the remaining travelers.
A spokesperson for SICOP, the French national police communications service, confirmed that a section of rail was discovered on the tracks and is believed to be connected to the accident. Speaking under conditions of anonymity due to standard police protocol, the spokesperson indicated the foreign object was “probably” linked to the derailment.
Investigators are currently working to determine whether the occurrence was accidental or the result of intentional interference. The prosecutor’s office has maintained a cautious stance, refraining from drawing premature conclusions regarding the cause.
This event follows a series of significant rail accidents in France in recent years. In July 2013, a derailment at Brétigny-sur-Orge, south of Paris, resulted in seven fatalities. Two years later, in November 2015, a high-speed TGV train testing near Strasbourg overturned, killing 11 individuals.
The incident also mirrors other severe rail crashes in Europe, such as the January collision of two high-speed trains in Adamuz, southern Spain, which left 46 dead and over 100 injured, according to the Andalusian regional government.
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