Forty-four hurt in Normandy

A passenger train came off the tracks in northern France on Friday. At least 44 people were injured, one of them critically, according to officials.

Three carriages went over

Three carriages ended up on their side on the line between Rouen and Caen. The wreck left a scene that emergency crews worked through into the night.

7.45pm on a Friday

The derailment happened at around 7.45pm local time, in the middle of a normal end of week service between two of Normandy's biggest cities.

180 people on board

The train was carrying 180 passengers when it left the rails. Most of them walked away, which is the only piece of luck in the whole story.

Just outside Cleon

The train went off near the town of Cleon, a small municipality on the Seine south of Rouen, in the Seine-Maritime department.

The minister confirmed it

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot posted the details on X, naming the route, the passenger count and the location.

It hit something

The train struck an unidentified object sitting on the track, a spokesperson for the French police said. What the object was has not been made public.

140 firefighters turned out

Police said 140 firefighters worked the site, treating the injured and getting uninjured passengers away from the carriages.

One critical, 43 minor

Local media reported an 18-year-old suffered serious injuries and was left in a critical condition. The other 43 injured passengers had minor injuries.

Airlifted to Rouen

The teenage girl was flown to Rouen University Hospital. Footage from the scene showed helicopters hovering over the tracks.

A town hall as a shelter

Everyone else was taken to Cleon Town Hall, the nearest building big enough to hold well over a hundred shaken people.

The numbers do not match

French TV station BFMTV reported one carriage overturned and four derailed, at around 7.30pm. Early counts and timings from a crash site rarely agree.

At first it felt normal

Louis, 24, was in a carriage when the shaking started. It took a couple of seconds before he understood that this was not ordinary track noise.

“All of a sudden there were several jerks. At first I thought it was normal, but after two or three seconds, they got stronger and stronger.”

He could not stay seated

As the train came off the rails he gave up on his own seat and grabbed the one in front of him to hold on.

“I was shaken so much I couldn't stay in my seat anymore, I tried to hold onto the seat in front.”

Stones came through the windows

Windows broke, mostly at the front of the carriage, and ballast from the trackbed came in with the glass.

“Stones from the track flew everywhere in the carriage. There was broken glass everywhere.”

Still shaking hours later

Louis was describing it to local outlet Ici while the adrenaline was still running. He said he had not stopped shaking.

“It was really quite shocking, I'm still shaking.”

Stay away, said the prefecture

The Seine-Maritime prefecture asked the public to avoid the area. Police blocked the roads leading to the site so crews could work.

Buses instead of trains

SNCF suspended services between Rouen and Caen, and between Caen and Le Havre, and said a replacement bus service would be put in place.

The power went off

The line's electricity supply was cut so emergency responders could get to the carriages without risk from the overhead wires.

Cause unknown, probe open

Police and SNCF have both opened investigations. The operator offered solidarity to passengers and staff while making clear it cannot yet explain the crash.

“The causes of this accident are not yet known at this stage.”