French police suspect train derailment was result of sabotage

Investigators suspect that a train derailment in northwest France, which left 44 people injured, one of them seriously, was the result of sabotage, a police source told AFP on Saturday. A fragment of rail was found on the track, making the possibility of a malicious act the main line of investigation, the source said. Read moreOne dead and dozens injured in a train collision north of London The train, carrying 186 passengers, was traveling between the Norman cities of Rouen and Caen when it derailed around 7:45 p.m. (17:45 GMT) on Friday. The authorities activated a response plan for cases of mass casualties, with 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles mobilized. Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois said 44 people were injured, including an 18-year-old woman evacuated “in critical condition”, while drug and alcohol tests on the train driver came back negative. SNCF Réseau, which controls the French rail network, told AFP that traffic on the line was suspended and power to the tracks was cut to allow emergency services to operate. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)