France train derailment: Police probe possible sabotage after rail fragment found

People, including SNCF agents, walk around the crashed train in Cleon, north-western France, on September 12, 2026, one day after a train carrying 180 passengers derailed, injuring 44 people. — AFP pic

First Published: Saturday, 12 Sep 2026 4:45 PM MYT

PARIS, Sept 12 — Investigators suspect that a train derailment in north-west France which injured 44, one gravely, was the result of sabotage, a police source told AFP on Saturday.

A fragment of rail was found on the track, with the possibility of a malicious act being treated as the main line of inquiry as a result, the source said.

Carrying 186 passengers, the train was running between the Normandy cities of Rouen and Caen when it derailed around 7.45pm (1745 GMT) Friday.

Authorities activated a mass-casualty response plan, with 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles drafted in.

Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois said 44 people were injured including an 18-year-old woman evacuated “in a critical condition”, while tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver had come back negative.

SNCF Reseau, which controls the French rail network, told AFP that traffic on the line has been suspended and power to the tracks cut to allow emergency services to operate. — AFP