A spokesman for the country’s national rail company SNCF told DW that a train struck four people on the tracks early Tuesday near Saint-Jean-de-Luz in southwest France.
Three people died in the incident.
The fourth person was first treated on the spot, then was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
What we know so far:
- The incident occurred at around 5.30 am local time (0730 UTC).
- The incident occurred about 0.5 kilometers (0.3 mi) from the Saint-Jean-de-Luz train station in the town of Siboure.
- The victims were hit by a regional express train traveling between Hendaye and Bordeaux
- an inquiry has been opened
- Train services gradually resumed from 8:15 am
Who were the victims?
France Blue, a local public broadcaster, reported that two of the victims had been identified as Algerian citizens.
It is believed that those killed were migrants, privately owned French broadcaster RTL quoted Bayonne’s public prosecutor Jérme Bourrier, who was at the site.
As Le Parisien newspaper reports, Siboure mayor Enneco Aldana-Dout specified that the four migrants were “sleeping or lying down” on the tracks.
Algerian migrants are common in France
Algeria is a former French colony that gained independence in 1962. Algerian citizens are one of the largest groups of migrants in the country.
France announced in late September that it plans to sharply reduce the number of visas granted to people from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It said this was due to governments’ refusal to take back illegal migrants deported from France.
.