A recent high-speed train derailment in France has led to the deaths of 11 people, some of whom were children. Authorities are looking into the matter in order to determine the number of people who were on the train at the time of derailment. Some of the people were believed to have been on the train without receiving proper permission.
Only 49 technicians and railway workers were supposed to be on the train during the test run. In addition to the 11 deaths, 37 people were injured and 12 people are still in critical condition. It is unknown how many of the victims were children.
The incident took place in the French town of Eckwersheim. After the derailment occurred, the train struck a bridge and broke into two pieces. The train ended up being partially submerged in a canal. Some of the train cars fell into a canal, while the rest ended up in a field. Workers had to use a crane and steel cables to retrieve the cars from the water.
The state-company that owns and operates the railway, SNCF, has already said that it will take responsibility for all the victims. This includes people who may have been on the train without receiving proper permission. The current investigation will seek to determine who was on the train and why they were on it.
During searches that took place on Sunday, no bodies were found. The accident has been blamed on “excessive speed”. The train was traveling at over 215 mph at the time of derailment. Sabotage or an attack on the train has not yet been ruled out, but authorities are saying that such an attack is unlikely.
The version of the train is known as a TGV, which stands for “train a grande vitesse”, or high-speed train. This particular line is scheduled to go into service next spring, though it is very likely that this most recent incident will delay plans.
Derailments of French TGV trains have occurred in the past, but the accident on Saturday was the first to take any lives.
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